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Article · February 10, 2026 · Alexandre Veau
ChatGPT, Google and the battle over new standards (UCP, MCP, GEO)
In less than 18 months, travel distribution has entered a new phase. AI assistants no longer just advise: they are starting to execute, plan, compare and book.
In less than 18 months, travel distribution has entered a new phase. AI assistants no longer just advise: they are starting to execute, plan, compare and book. This shift towards a “click-free” web reshuffles the value chain: who controls the customer interface? who provides the “product truth”? and on which technical rails - protocols, standards, content - does booking now rest?
The signals keep multiplying: Apps inside ChatGPT, AI Mode in Google Search, the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) for agentic commerce, the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to connect AI to systems, and the emergence of GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) to stay visible when AI answers instead of websites.
The historical paradigm of digital travel was linear: inspire → search → click → compare → book. Generative AI breaks that model. When an assistant synthesises, recommends and orchestrates in a single answer, it captures a growing share of intent upstream of the click. In travel the impact is even more structural: booking rests on complex, transactional objects - real-time availability, fare rules, cancellations, servicing.
Since late 2025, OpenAI has opened ChatGPT to native applications integrated through its marketplace (Apps SDK). ChatGPT becomes a platform for direct access to services: the first partners cited include Expedia and Booking.com, quickly joined by Tripadvisor. The advantage shifts towards players able to provide rich inventories, actionable real-time prices and usable rules.
In November 2025, Google unveiled travel features integrated into AI Mode: Canvas (a planning space for flights, hotels and Maps), “AI-powered” Flight Deals and agentic capabilities turning a plan into a booking. With Flights, Hotels, Things to do and Maps, AI acts as an orchestration layer.
In January 2026, Google announced the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), an open-source standard for agentic commerce. The Model Context Protocol (MCP) connects assistants to travel’s core systems (PMS, CRS, booking engines, GDS, CRM, loyalty). Finally, GEO shifts the visibility challenge: ranking well is no longer enough - you have to be cited and synthesised in the AI answer.
AI radically transforms the customer interface, but booking remains a system of rules, standards and integrations. NDC and OSDM took years to industrialise; AI protocols (MCP, UCP) will not escape that reality. Three workstreams stand out: optimising AI interfaces, strengthening connection protocols, and structuring transactional standards able to absorb travel’s complexity.
Written by Alexandre Veau - Tuesday, February 10, 2026.
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