Expedia has launched a Skype bot that enables users of the
messaging service to make or modify some travel arrangements.
According to Expedia, bot users can search for and make
hotel bookings. They can also manage flight or hotel confirmations and
cancellations via the bot, which can be found by searching for "Expedia"
on Skype.
When the bot gets a request that it doesn't yet support, it
will be routed to "an Expedia travel representative," the company
said. Users can also choose to call Expedia from Skype for free.
In addition to the Skype bot, Expedia said it is developing "the
first travel experience" for Microsoft's personal assistant Cortana
(Microsoft also owns Skype). That experience will include travel notifications
as well as help booking hotels using past preferences and payment information.
Expedia has similar technology deployed for Facebook
Messenger and Amazon's Echo.