Priceline recently announced that it is adding voice technology to Penny, its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered travel assistant. Penny Voice is one of the first products that uses OpenAI’s Realtime API powered by GPT-4o, and promises a “customized, conversational agent.”
Using multimodal technology, Penny Voice will “hear” and understand complex consumer requests and anticipate needs based on preferences and past interactions. It responds in real time with hotel, restaurant, activity and destination recommendations.
Our Analysis: Priceline Is Saying Penny Voice Is as “Simple as Having a Conversation.” How Are Travel Advisors Different?
Priceline says that with Penny Voice, “booking travel will soon be as simple as having a conversation.” Human travel advisors already offer this service, but it’s clear that advisors will need to think of more ways to differentiate their services from AI travel assistants, which are getting smarter, more convenient and now, louder every day.
In addition to investing in personal relationships with clients, advisors should also think about how to make their services more personalized, convenient and accessible to clients as consumers get more accustomed to quick, easy and customized travel solutions.
What They Are Saying: Penny Voice Provides a Continuous Feedback Loop for Further Enhancement
“With Penny Voice, we’re further redefining how people plan and book travel,” said Brett Keller, CEO of Priceline. “Our collaboration with OpenAI includes a continuous feedback loop, allowing us to rapidly innovate, enhance and now literally bring Penny to life. We’re extremely proud of our work together and the results.”
