Google's Agentic Hotel Booking Tool Comes to AI Mode

Google is rolling out hotel booking within AI Mode in the U.S., allowing travelers to search, compare, and book hotels through natural language chat and pay with Google Pay. The hotel or OTA remains the merchant of record, handling charges, confirmations, and support. Launch partners include Booking.com, Expedia, Hilton, Marriott, IHG, Choice, Wyndham, Priceline, Hotels.com, and Trip.com. Google emphasizes the tool is not fully autonomous, but it reduces partners' visibility into the customer's decision journey.