Skift Research: AI agents have entered travel booking

Skift proposes that AI agents have entered the travel booking process and continues to release research and event information around this change. On November 3, 2026, Skift released advance reading material for the Skift Commerce Summit 2026, stating that the summit will be held on November 11 at Apella by Alexandria in New York. The advance reading proposes that travel companies in the AI agent era need to face five decisions: ownership of customer relationships, the infrastructure required for AI sales and service, revenue sources beyond booking, channel profitability, and expansion beyond the core business. The report did not disclose the summit's specific agenda, participating parties, or details of research data; the event's current status is that the advance reading has been released and the conference has not yet taken place.