Google Flights unveils new AI search tool, to roll out from next week

Google on Thursday said Flight Deals, its new, AI-powered search tool within Google Flights, will roll out over the next week in the US, Canada, and India.

Announcing this, a blogpost by Google said Flight Deals is designed for flexible travellers whose primary goal is saving money on their next trip.

Over the next week, 'Flight Deals' will roll out in the US, Canada and India, and no opt-in would be needed, it further said.

The feature can be accessed through the Flight Deals page, or via the top-left menu on Google Flights, the flight search engine that helps users find and compare airline tickets.

"Instead of playing with different dates, destinations and filters to uncover the best deals, you can just describe when, where and how you'd like to travel -- as though you're talking to a friend -- and Flight Deals will take care of the rest," it said.

Citing an example, it said one can start with searching for something like "week-long trip this winter to a city with great food, nonstop only" or "10 day ski trip to a world-class resort with fresh powder".

"You'll see the best bargains available that match your search, including destinations you may not have previously considered," it said.

Flight Deals uses Google's advanced AI to understand the nuances of what users are looking for and identifies matching destinations. Thereafter, it taps into real-time Google Flights data to quickly display relevant, up-to-date options from hundreds of airlines and booking sites.

"We're launching Flight Deals in beta to gather feedback and explore how AI can improve travel planning. But we know you love the original Google Flights, and that's here to stay (in fact, it will keep getting better: we're adding a new option to exclude basic economy fares for trips in the US and Canada)," it said.