Google expands AI travel planning to 200+ countries with booking features

Google announced substantial expansions to its artificial intelligence-powered travel tools on November 17, 2025, according to Julie Farago, Vice President of Engineering for Search. The deployment includes global availability of Flight Deals across more than 200 countries, Canvas-based itinerary creation in AI Mode, and agentic booking capabilities that extend beyond restaurants to encompass event tickets and local appointments.

The Flight Deals feature, previously launched in August 2025 for the United States, Canada, and India, now reaches users in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia, Japan, and Korea. According to the announcement, the tool supports more than 60 languages and enables travelers to describe trips conversationally rather than specifying exact destinations and dates.

Flight Deals interprets natural language queries through artificial intelligence that processes travel intent. According to the help documentation, the system analyzes requests like "see the cherry blossoms in Japan" or "romantic weekend getaways" without requiring users to select specific locations and timeframes. The technology identifies potential destinations fitting user criteria, then searches Google Flights' inventory from more than 300 airline partners for matching options.

Pricing methodology defines deals based on historical data analysis. According to the documentation, a flight qualifies as a deal when its price registers significantly lower than typical pricing for similar trips. The system examines median values of cheapest prices found for specific routes over the past 12 months, incorporating factors including time of year, trip length, cabin class, and user-specified filters for stops or carriers.

Two distinct deal categories appear in results. Savings Deals receive highlighting with a percentage-less-than-usual badge when flight prices register at least 20 percent lower than typical pricing, displaying standard prices with strikethrough formatting. Cheap Flights showcase lowest available fares to popular destinations matching search criteria, though these may not represent percentage savings compared to typical pricing and lack special badges.

Results ranking prioritizes savings percentage, with highest percentage savings appearing first. According to the documentation, when multiple deals share identical savings percentages, the system displays lower absolute prices first. Results without savings badges rank by lowest price.

Canvas in AI Mode introduces itinerary-building functionality available on desktop in the United States for users opted into the AI Mode experiment. According to the announcement, Canvas creates a side panel workspace where users can organize travel plans over extended periods. The system combines real-time Search data for flights and hotels, details from Google Maps including photos and reviews, and relevant information from sites across the web.

The Canvas system generates suggestions fitting user criteria, such as hotel comparisons based on pricing and amenities or restaurant and activity ideas optimized by travel time from accommodations. According to the announcement, users can refine plans through follow-up questions addressing tradeoffs like choosing hotels closer to specific activities. Plans persist through AI Mode history via the top-left menu, enabling users to resume work across sessions.

Agentic booking capabilities expanded substantially from their initial rollout. AI Mode's agentic features for shopping launched November 13, 2025, demonstrating the platform's capacity for autonomous task completion. Restaurant reservations through agentic booking became available this week in AI Mode without Labs opt-in requirement for United States users, according to the announcement.

The restaurant booking system searches multiple reservation platforms including OpenTable, Resy, and Tock to find real-time availability meeting user criteria. According to the announcement, AI Mode presents a curated list with direct links for users to finalize bookings through partners. Event ticket booking operates similarly, searching across Ticketmaster, StubHub, SeatGeek, and Vivid Seats platforms.

Local appointments booking searches beauty and wellness platforms including Booksy, Fresha, and Vagaro. According to the announcement, agentic booking for event tickets and local appointments reached all United States Labs users. This marks an expansion from the feature's initial limited testing, which began with select user groups.

Future flight and hotel booking capabilities received confirmation. According to the announcement, the company plans functionality enabling users to complete flight and hotel reservations directly within AI Mode. The system will allow users to describe requirements, compare options including schedules, prices, room photos, amenities, and reviews, then complete bookings with chosen partners.

Partner collaboration proves essential for implementation. According to the announcement, partnerships include Booking.com, Choice Hotels International, Expedia, IHG Hotels & Resorts, Marriott International, and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. The announcement emphasizes commitment to partnering with travel companies of every size to provide comprehensive options.

The timing coincides with holiday travel planning periods. Flight Deals functionality addresses flexible travelers prioritizing cost savings, while Canvas targets detailed itinerary creation requiring coordination of multiple components. Agentic booking reduces friction in reservation processes by consolidating searches across multiple platforms through conversational interfaces.

Technical limitations persist in experimental features. Flight Deals does not support multi-city trips, trips with multiple departure cities, travel dates very far in future, specific passenger types or groups larger than four people, or specific layover requests. According to the documentation, capabilities are expected to expand over time as the feature develops beyond beta status.

AI Mode's rollout to UK users in July 2025 established international availability patterns for conversational search features. The Flight Deals global expansion follows similar geographic distribution strategies, introducing capabilities to major markets while maintaining English-language dominance in initial phases.

The integration represents convergence of multiple product lines. Google Flights provides baseline flight search infrastructure, Google Maps contributes location data and reviews, and AI Mode supplies conversational interface and agentic capabilities. According to the announcement, this integration enables comprehensive travel planning from initial inspiration through booking completion.

Traditional travel advertising through Google Ads continues operating separately from these consumer-facing features. Travel Feeds in Search Ads expanded to all hotel advertisers globally in October 2024, enabling comprehensive hotel data display including real-time prices, availability dates, ratings, and images within search advertisements.

Competitive implications affect online travel agencies and booking platforms. By reducing friction in search and discovery phases, integrated AI tools may capture user attention earlier in travel planning processes. However, the maintained connections to existing booking systems preserve partnerships with airline and travel industry stakeholders rather than creating closed ecosystems.

Privacy considerations remain relevant for features requiring user sign-in. Flight Deals operates exclusively for signed-in users, providing data collection opportunities while managing system load. Canvas functionality similarly requires AI Mode opt-in, limiting availability to users actively choosing experimental features.

The experimental designation acknowledges ongoing development. According to the announcement, the company aims to improve travel planning through artificial intelligence while maintaining feedback collection channels. Flight prices change frequently, making deals subject to availability with potential price variations at booking time according to the documentation.

Industry observers note patterns in agentic AI development across Google's product portfolio. The November 2025 agentic AI framework from Google Cloud established five-level taxonomy for autonomous systems. Travel booking capabilities demonstrate Level 1 Connected Problem-Solver functionality, utilizing external tools for real-time information retrieval across partner platforms.

Research predicting agentic AI project failures suggests implementation challenges ahead. Gartner forecasts over 40 percent of agentic AI projects will be canceled by end of 2027 due to escalating costs, unclear business value, and inadequate risk controls. Travel booking represents a use case where value propositions remain relatively clear through measurable conversion improvements.

The development trajectory suggests continued feature expansion. According to the announcement, Canvas travel planning, Flight Deals, and agentic booking capabilities will receive ongoing updates based on user feedback and technical refinements during experimental phases.

Timeline

• August 14, 2025: Google launches Flight Deals in United States, Canada, and India with natural language search capabilities across 300 airline partners
• August 29, 2024: Google unveils AI travel tools including Immersive View for routes, enhanced Translate features, and travel-focused Gemini integrations
• October 21, 2024: Travel Feeds expansion makes comprehensive hotel advertising capabilities available globally with 20 percent higher engagement
• November 13, 2025: Google launches agentic shopping features demonstrating autonomous purchase capabilities and Duplex-powered inventory verification
• November 17, 2025: Google expands Flight Deals globally to 200+ countries with 60+ languages, introduces Canvas travel planning in AI Mode, and adds agentic booking for restaurants, events, and appointments

Summary

Who: Google announced travel feature expansions through Julie Farago, Vice President of Engineering for Search, affecting users across more than 200 countries and partnerships with travel industry companies including Booking.com, Expedia, IHG Hotels & Resorts, Marriott International, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, OpenTable, Resy, Tock, Ticketmaster, StubHub, SeatGeek, Vivid Seats, Booksy, Fresha, and Vagaro.

What: The announcement encompasses three primary capabilities—global Flight Deals expansion supporting natural language flight searches across 300 airline partners in 60+ languages, Canvas travel planning tool in AI Mode for desktop users creating persistent itineraries combining flight, hotel, and activity data, and agentic booking features enabling conversational reservation completion for restaurants, event tickets, and local appointments with future plans for direct flight and hotel booking.

When: Google announced the features on November 17, 2025, with restaurant agentic booking rolling out this week, Canvas available for AI Mode experiment participants, and Flight Deals beginning global rollout to countries including United Kingdom, France, Germany, Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia, Japan, and Korea following initial August 2025 launch in United States, Canada, and India.

Where: Flight Deals operates in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide supporting more than 60 languages, Canvas functions on desktop for United States users opted into AI Mode experiments, and agentic booking serves United States users for restaurant reservations without Labs opt-in requirement while event tickets and local appointments require Labs participation.

Why: The features address friction in travel planning by enabling natural language search replacing rigid date and destination requirements, providing persistent workspace for complex itinerary coordination across multiple data sources, and reducing booking complexity through consolidated platform searches with conversational interfaces, positioning Google as comprehensive travel planning solution from initial inspiration through reservation completion while maintaining partnerships with existing industry booking systems rather than creating closed ecosystems.