logo
Don't Count Out Google Travel Search

Don't Count Out Google Travel Search

Skifta day ago
The long-term attractiveness of Google Search is still an open question. That's why Booking and others are looking to diversify.
Think AI will kill Google travel search? It hasn't happened yet.
Booking Holdings Chief Financial Officer Ewout Steenbergen said the company's ads in Google continue to perform — even as Booking diversifies its favored marketing platforms.
"Google clicks continue to hold up quite well," Steenbergen told analysts earlier this week during Booking's second quarter earnings call. He said clicks are growing when Booking places ads in Google for its core accommodations business.
"So we don't see a decline in that yet," he said.
Google's Search Business Is Growing, Not
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Delta Air Lines tries to calm fury over ticket prices, telling lawmakers it won't use AI
Delta Air Lines tries to calm fury over ticket prices, telling lawmakers it won't use AI

New York Post

time19 minutes ago

  • New York Post

Delta Air Lines tries to calm fury over ticket prices, telling lawmakers it won't use AI

Delta Air Lines said Friday it will not use artificial intelligence to set personalized ticket prices for passengers after facing sharp criticism from lawmakers. Last week, Democratic Senators Ruben Gallego, Mark Warner and Richard Blumenthal said they believed the Atlanta-based airline would use AI to set individual prices, which would 'likely mean fare price increases up to each individual consumer's personal 'pain point.'' Delta has said it plans to deploy AI-based revenue management technology across 20% of its domestic network by the end of 2025 in partnership with Fetcherr, an AI pricing company. Delta has said it plans to deploy AI-based revenue management technology across 20% of its domestic network by the end of 2025. AFP via Getty Images 'There is no fare product Delta has ever used, is testing or plans to use that targets customers with individualized prices based on personal data,' Delta told the senators in a letter on Friday, seen by Reuters. 'Our ticket pricing never takes into account personal data.' The senators cited a comment in December by Delta President Glen Hauenstein that the carrier's AI price-setting technology is capable of setting fares based on a prediction of 'the amount people are willing to pay for the premium products related to the base fares.' Last week, American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said using AI to set ticket prices could hurt consumer trust. 'This is not about bait and switch. This is not about tricking,' Isom said on an earnings call, adding 'talk about using AI in that way, I don't think it's appropriate. And certainly from American, it's not something we will do.' Delta said airlines have used dynamic pricing for more than three decades, in which pricing fluctuates based on a variety of factors like overall customer demand, fuel prices and competition but not a specific consumer's personal information. 'There is no fare product Delta has ever used, is testing or plans to use that targets customers with individualized prices based on personal data,' Delta told the senators in a letter. AFP via Getty Images 'Given the tens of millions of fares and hundreds of thousands of routes for sale at any given time, the use of new technology like AI promises to streamline the process by which we analyze existing data and the speed and scale at which we can respond to changing market dynamics,' Delta's letter said. It added that AI can 'assist our analysts with pricing by reducing manual processes, accelerating analysis and improving time to market for pricing adjustments.'

Google backpedals on plans to totally kill this legacy service
Google backpedals on plans to totally kill this legacy service

Android Authority

time19 minutes ago

  • Android Authority

Google backpedals on plans to totally kill this legacy service

It's hard to believe, but Google launched its URL Shortener tool all the way back in 2009. Although the tool was shut down in 2018, Google confirmed that URLs would continue to redirect to their intended destinations. However, the tech giant announced last year that it would stop supporting those links after August 25, 2025. That was the plan anyway, but the company has since had a slight change of heart. Google has updated the blog post where it announced the shutdown of Google URL Shortener. In the update, the Mountain View-based firm states that it has reconsidered discontinuing support for all URLs. Despite claiming earlier that 99% of these links had no activity in June, Google says it received feedback that some actively used links are still embedded in countless documents, videos, posts, and more. As a result of the input it received, Google declares it will adjust its approach to preserve actively used links. This isn't a complete about-face, however, as the company still plans to shut down some URLs. The tech giant says it will instead target only inactive links: Nine months ago, we redirected URLs that showed no activity in late 2024 to a message specifying that the link would be deactivated in August, and these are the only links targeted to be deactivated. If you get a message that states, 'This link will no longer work in the near future', the link won't work after August 25 and we recommend transitioning to another URL shortener if you haven't already. Google confirms that active links will be preserved and continue to function like normal. You'll be able to check if your link will remain active by clicking on it. If that link redirects you without a message, it should be safe.

OpenAI's education head says students should use ChatGPT as a tool, not 'an answer machine'
OpenAI's education head says students should use ChatGPT as a tool, not 'an answer machine'

Business Insider

time20 minutes ago

  • Business Insider

OpenAI's education head says students should use ChatGPT as a tool, not 'an answer machine'

Luddites have no place in an AI-powered world, according to OpenAI 's vice president of education. "Workers who use AI in the workforce are incredibly more productive," Leah Belsky, who's been leading OpenAI's education team since 2024, said on an episode of the company's podcast on Friday. So learning to use the technology, she said, should start early. "Any graduate who leaves institution today needs to know how to use AI in their daily life," she said. "And that will come in both where they're applying for jobs as well as when they start their new job." Most schools have so far sought ways to prevent students from using AI rather than encouraging it or teaching it. This is partly because AI use in school is considered cheating. There is also concern that using AI can cause so-called "brain rot." Belsky thinks about it differently. "AI is ultimately a tool," she said, at one point comparing it to a calculator. "What matters most in an education space is how that tool is used. If students use AI as an answer machine, they are not going to learn. And so part of our journey here is to help students and educators use AI in ways that will expand critical thinking and expand creativity." The "core literacy" students should develop, she said, is coding. "Now, with vibe coding and now that there are all sorts of tools that make coding easier, I think we're going to get to a place where every student should not only learn how to use AI generally, but they should learn to use AI to create images, to create applications, to write code," she said. Vibe coding is the process of prompting AI in natural language to write code for whatever you want. It's been widely embraced, but most avoid using it for core technology since AI code is prone to errors. Anyone vibe coding would need some level of coding knowledge, or know someone who does, to check the AI's work. Perhaps the biggest concern about using AI in education is that it removes the element of "productive struggle" — a crucial part of how people learn and master new material. Belsky says OpenAI is developing technology to counter that. This week, OpenAI introduced "Study Mode" in ChatGPT, which provides students with "guiding questions that calibrate responses to their objective and skill level to help them build deeper understanding," according to OpenAI's website. OpenAI is not the only technology company thinking about this topic. Kira Learning is a startup chaired by Google Brain founder Andrew Ng. It first launched in 2021 to help teachers without a background in computer science teach the subject effectively. The company launched a slate of AI agents earlier this year. The aim is to introduce "friction" into students' conversations with AI at the right stages so that they actually have a productive struggle and learn through the experience, Andre Pasinetti, cofounder and CEO of Kira, told Business Insider. For the near future, at least, the onus will likely be on tech companies to spearhead new ways to keep the learning in learning, as universities and educational institutions scramble to keep up. Tyler Cowen, a professor of economics at George Mason University, also talked about the state of the university in a conversation with podcaster Azeem Azhar this week. "There's a lot of hand-wringing about 'How do we stop people from cheating' and not looking at 'What should we be teaching and testing?'" he said."The whole system is set up to incentivize getting good grades. And that's exactly the skill that will be obsolete."

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store