Search engine embraces AI, introduces new languages and improves accessibility
During 2023 Skyscanner helped more than 100 million users every month from across the globe find flights, hotel stays and car rentals.
In order to maintain this performance, the metasearch giant will continue to innovate and evolve the site and app to make planning and booking travel as simple and budget-friendly as possible.
“We’re testing a ‘Dream & discover with AI’ tool in selected markets to see how AI can help travellers discover new places – all by asking one simple question: What kind of trip is on your mind?” said Skyscanner chief product officer Piero Sierra.
With the focus on ease of use, as of August 2023, Skyscanner now supports 32 languages, including Hindi. Additionally travellers can now save their searched flights to come back to later, with price alerts subsequently sent if fares go up or down.
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This is particularly poignant for the increasing number of travellers for whom budget is of greater concern.
“Historically one of our most popular money-saving tools, Cheapest Month is back,” said Sierra. “This makes it easier [for users] to see the cheapest price per month and also the absolute cheapest month of the year to visit a destination when searching for 'flexible dates'.
“Using traffic light colour-coding we also made it easier to spot the cheapest flight price within the search panel on our site.”
Appealing to the growing number of travellers who are looking for greater flexibility, Skyscanner is also evolving its ‘Everywhere’ search.
“In October, we tested allowing travellers to narrow down their search, whatever their trip’s vibe – whether that’s great beaches, an exciting food scene or anything in between. More to come on this one in 2024,” said Sierra.