Traveler Trust and AI (2024)

Expedia Group Technology — Data

At Expedia Group™, we understand the inherent value of traveler trust to our business’s success. As Expedia Group continues to innovate with our use of generative AI to power our travel apps, trust is more important than ever. However, the concept of trust can mean many different things. Without a clear definition of trust, it’s hard to create a strategy for building trust, much less measure whether we’re succeeding.

In response to this need, I have spent the past five years collaborating with colleagues in Expedia Group’s UX research, product analytics, and voice of the customer (VOC) organizations to develop a framework for conceptualizing and measuring traveler trust. This framework was developed before AI was on most people’s radar, but its core principles readily apply to travelers’ interactions with this new technology.

How we define trust starts with a simple premise: Expedia’s two-sided marketplace is built on relationships. Relationships can be incredibly rewarding, but they are also risky. This is where trust comes in.

We define trust as the willingness to rely on others in the face of risk. This definition might sound abstract, so let’s break it down. “Willingness to rely on others” refers to travelers feeling confident enough in our brand to put their outcomes in our hands. Whether it’s using ChatGPT to build an itinerary on Expedia or joining our One Key loyalty program, travelers will only trust us with their travel needs when they feel assured that we will deliver on our promises. “Risk” defines the situations where this willingness to rely on others matters. Trust doesn’t guide customers’ decisions when they buy a $2 bottle of soda at a corner store. But trust is critical when the success of a family vacation is at stake.

Starting with this definition, we built a framework for conceptualizing and measuring trust throughout our product experiences. This framework synthesized industry thought and psychological research on trust with extensive internal research on our travelers.

In the Expedia Group trust framework, four factors drive traveler trust:

• Security: Is the brand safe? For travel in general, security includes payment protection and personal safety. Security considerations in AI include responsibly safeguarding travelers’ privacy and applying human oversight to AI models and applications.
• Reliability: Does the brand have integrity? As a concept, reliability includes transparency, quality, and delivering on promises. Applied to AI, reliability takes the form of transparently explaining how AI systems work and flagging when AI is being used.
• Benevolence: Does the brand put travelers’ best interests first? Benevolence includes providing services and products that benefit travelers. Applied in a human-centered way, AI can benefit travelers by simplifying trip planning, inspiring trip ideas, and supporting travelers throughout their trips.
• Connection: Do travelers feel a bond with the brand? AI can deepen connections by creating experiences that learn about and adapt to travelers’ unique needs and preferences. Building trust with AI also involves leaving AI out of situations that require a human touch, like contacting customer support about a complex and urgent problem.

These factors all drive trust, but they vary in their importance. Security and reliability are the most important and apply to most areas of our travelers’ experience. Benevolence and connection increase trust, but they are not as broadly relevant or as critically important. In other words, a traveler will lose trust in us if they’re unable to complete their booking, no matter how connected they feel to our brand. On the other hand, because security and reliability are so essential, they won’t necessarily differentiate a brand. For example, everyone expects payments to be secure online, so touting that our payments are secure won’t differentiate us from competitors. However, benevolence and connection — especially when they are powered by human-centered applications of generative AI — might be differentiators.

We drew on our extensive research and analysis of traveler feedback to map out the role each factor plays across our travelers’ journey — from the moment they start dreaming about their vacation to the moment they return from their trip. We’ve learned insights like resonating with a brand’s imagery (connection) drives trust in the early stages of our travelers’ journey, whereas feeling assured that their booking is protected (safety) is more important when travelers are deciding whether to purchase.

Knowing what builds or breaks travelers’ trust can help us create better apps and experiences for our travelers. It also enables us to effectively diagnose areas for improvement. We do this by continuously measuring trust throughout our traveler experience. Our approach to measuring trust connects rigorously validated survey methodology to other signals like traveler feedback and behavior. This measurement program has helped us identify the top issues that break trust for our travelers as well as prove the long-term business impact of improving traveler trust. Consistent with external research, this program has demonstrated that traveler trust predicts their likelihood to become repeat customers and their willingness to spend more.

With continued innovation in generative AI, trust has been at the center of many debates about the role of AI in technology. Because our trust framework is rooted in the fundamentals of human psychology, it can guide product design and strategy with even the most cutting-edge technology. Travelers will only trust AI-powered technology when it feels safe, provides accurate information, helps them achieve their goals, and enhances their experience. As the tech landscape continues to change, we will best serve our users if we keep trust at the center of everything we do.

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