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Google Expands Travel Planning Tools with Individual Hotel Price Tracking and AI Features

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Google Enhances Search and AI with New Travel and Shopping Tools

Google has introduced new features to its Search and AI Mode platforms, including the ability for users to track prices for individual hotels and for its AI to contact local stores to check product inventory. These updates are part of a broader suite of travel and shopping planning tools offered by the company.

New Hotel Price Tracking Feature

Google has added a feature allowing users to track price changes for specific hotels, similar to its existing system for flight prices.

Users can select a hotel and receive email alerts when its price changes for their selected travel dates. The feature is now available for signed-in users in English and Spanish.

  • Access Points:
    • On desktop, the "Track this hotel" toggle is located in the Overview or Prices tabs on Google's hotel search site.
    • On mobile, the toggle is found under the Prices tab.

Background: Google launched city-wide hotel price tracking in 2023. The company states this individual hotel tracking functionality has been in development for some time.

AI Mode Updates for Shopping and Travel

Google announced updates to its AI Mode, which is designed to assist with planning tasks.

  • Local Store Inventory Checks: A feature that launched on Search in November 2023 is rolling out to AI Mode in the United States. Users can describe a needed item, and Google's AI will contact local stores to check inventory and provide results.
  • Hotel Price Tracking in AI Mode: The individual hotel price tracking feature is also accessible within AI Mode.

Additional Travel Tools and Trends

Google highlighted other existing tools for users, including building itineraries in Search's AI Mode, using Ask Maps for suggested stops, and tracking flight details via Live Updates in Google Wallet.

The company also shared data on travel search trends:

Search interest in terms like "AI travel assistant" and "AI concierge" increased by 350% over the past year.

  • Trending destinations for summer 2026 on Google Flights include St. Maarten, Stockholm, Kansas City (Missouri), and Sarasota (Florida).
  • "How to use AI to find flight deals" emerged as a trending query in the past month, and interest in "AI flight booking" increased by 315%.