Today, we’re announcing that you can chat with KAYAK on Facebook Messenger not only to send us virtual high-fives but also to use our new bot to search, plan, book and manage your travel. Because we are on a mission to make sure that planning and managing your travel is made better by bringing it to these new platforms — especially those that you use most frequently.
This latest integration with Messenger follows on the heels of our applications for Slack (where we help individuals and teams search for travel options) and Amazon Alexa (we armed her with KAYAK data to answer your burning travel questions). We want to make sure that whatever platform you’re on, KAYAK is there to arm you with the information you need on flights, hotels, rental cars and even things to do (that’s right, Activities search is now available on KAYAK).
What makes the KAYAK bot for Messenger stand out? We go beyond search to bring you everything from Trips updates to enabling you to book your travel within Messenger. It can also give you ideas on where you can go within your budget, show you when’s the best time to travel to hotspots you have in mind and will keep you up-to-date on your travel plans with status alerts and summary cards — all from the comfort of Messenger.
While this technology is still in its early stages — and we are learning more every day — we’re using it to help you better manage the entire trip planning experience. And the good news is that every time people use it, we are able to make our bot even smarter.
Why? Because when it comes down to it, we want to be useful to you wherever you are (like when you’re browsing Facebook during work hours. We see you, Charles).
To try it out:
- Start. Open Facebook Messenger. Open a new message. Put KAYAK in the “to” field and off we go.
- Plan. Start by messaging us with your travel plans (e.g. flights to Boston tomorrow, hotels in Rome tonight, cars in New York City on July 4, things to do in Austin). After a few questions, we’ll search hundreds of other travel sites at once for the info you need. Then, we’ll message back with a summary of your results or curated suggestions.
- Filter. You can further narrow your search by giving us more information about your preferences like “non-stop only,” “no XYZ Airline” or “only 5-star hotels.”
- Explore. Not sure where to go? If you’re looking for some inspiration, just ask the bot “where can I go for $300” (or whatever amount you choose) and we’ll give you available options within that budget.
- Book. After looking through our suggestions, when you find an option you like, simply click “Book.” You will be sent directly to our provider’s booking page.
- Manage. For users with a KAYAK account, link your account to Facebook via your KAYAK Trips settings. This will allow you to receive real-time notifications for gate changes, flight delays or check-in status in Messenger. You can also access your bookings and other details for your Trips through Messenger.
Stay tuned for more updates – we are just getting warmed up with bots and see incredible potential for how they can help solve travel problems.
To learn more go here.
