๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฝ?
I keep seeing posts like:
โImagine a world where your personal AI travel agent helps you book the perfect trip. It doesnโt care about ads, just gives you the best options. It talks to another agent (e.g. supplier/OTA agent), and boom, trip booked.โ
Sounds cool. ๐๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ?
People often assume agents are like mini-humans that can chat, negotiate, and work things out. In reality, agents are programs with a defined set of actions.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ปโ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ธ ๐๐ผ ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ. They run scripts or use APIs.
If the supplier or OTA already has a proper API, then your agent can just use that. Itโs way faster and more reliable than having two agents ยซย negotiateย ยป behind the scenes.
That brings us back to one of the core problems in travel: ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฏ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป.
We donโt need agents on the supplier side. We need better access to structured data and reliable APIs.
Sure, in theory, agents could act as wrappers around messy systems. But letโs not jump ahead.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ, ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ด๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฑ, ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐๐๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ.
Initiatives like OCTO and Hospitality ID are a step forward, but weโre still far from a plug-and-play ecosystem.
Before we dream about agents chatting with agents, letโs make sure suppliers and systems like booking platforms, CRMs, PMSs, and OTAs offer proper, open APIs.
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What are your thoughts on that?