KAYAK, the global travel search engine trusted by millions, has officially launched KAYAK.ai—a dedicated platform blending real-time travel pricing with conversational search. Built using OpenAI’s technology alongside KAYAK’s own extensive data capabilities, KAYAK.ai aims to attract tech-forward users eager to explore travel planning in a smarter, faster way.
Launched today, KAYAK.ai allows travelers to ask direct, chat-style questions and receive immediate, detailed answers. Pricing information from over 400 providers fuels the platform, ensuring travelers can trust that what they see is current and complete.
CEO Steve Hafner called KAYAK.ai a “creative sandbox,” giving KAYAK’s tech teams a place to experiment openly and openly test new ideas with early adopters. Features that prove successful will later graduate to the broader KAYAK.com platform.
How KAYAK.ai Helps Travelers Plan Smarter
KAYAK.ai isn’t just a search engine with a fresh coat of paint. It offers a real, tangible change in how travelers can find and book their trips. Instead of static listings, users get a conversation-driven experience.
Travelers can use KAYAK.ai to:
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Find the best destinations under $500 departing from New York City in June.
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Explore all nonstop flight options from their home airport without endless scrolling.
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Spot the cheapest weekend getaways based on real-time prices.
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Zero in on hotel stays with amenities like pools, free breakfast, or proximity to landmarks like the Eiffel Tower.
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Get trip planning suggestions by simply asking for a three-night beach vacation from Boston in May, including pricing and ideal dates.
It even helps with in-trip logistics. Users who save trips in their KAYAK account can ask, “Is my flight on time today?” and get an instant rundown of any delays, gate changes, and boarding times.
A Deeper Look at Features
The platform offers travelers specific tools to fine-tune their plans without getting bogged down:
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Real-Time Flight Tracking: Monitor flight status and changes instantly.
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Price Trends at a Glance: Visual graphs highlight the cheapest weekends to travel. Hovering over the graph reveals daily price movements.
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Nonstop Flight Finder: A clear breakdown of nonstop options by timing, cabin class, and cost.
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Precise Hotel Search: Filter by amenities with detailed, location-specific results.
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All-in-One Trip Planning: Provide basic preferences, and KAYAK.ai pulls together destinations, pricing, and timing suggestions in seconds.
These features focus on practical results rather than simply presenting a wall of information.
Leadership to Drive the AI Strategy
KAYAK has also added a major player to its leadership team. Yaron Zeidman steps in as the new Chief Technology Officer (CTO), marking the first time someone outside KAYAK’s original founding team has held the role.
Zeidman brings 29 years of product and engineering leadership, including building one of the world’s largest AI-powered staffing platforms at job&talent. His prior work with Agoda gives him additional insight into travel technology.
As CTO, Zeidman will oversee KAYAK’s 400+ product and engineering team members. His priorities include scaling AI-driven personalization, refining search functions, and pushing KAYAK’s innovation agenda further than ever before.
KAYAK.ai Is Just the Start
Later this year, KAYAK plans to expand KAYAK.ai’s capabilities to corporate travelers through its KAYAK for Business platform. This move signals the company’s larger ambition to embed AI-driven services into every corner of travel planning, from spontaneous weekend trips to structured business travel.
As CEO Steve Hafner put it, KAYAK intends to “lead with AI,” using KAYAK.ai as the proving ground to build better tools faster for all travelers, regardless of their destination or purpose.
A New Era for Travel Planning
With the launch of KAYAK.ai, KAYAK has firmly planted itself at the front of a changing travel landscape. By offering real-time conversational search combined with deep data sources, the company is setting a new benchmark for how travel services can work. The addition of a proven AI technology leader in Yaron Zeidman only sharpens the company’s edge.
Travelers who value both speed and substance now have a new tool—and a new reason to trust KAYAK with their next adventure.
