GuideGeek

Last updated
GuideGeek
Developer(s) Matador Network
Initial releaseApril 2023
Type Travel planner
Website www.guidegeek.com

GuideGeek is an AI-powered travel assistant that was launched by travel publisher Matador Network in April 2023 and is accessed by users through Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger to plan itineraries or provide travel tips and recommendations. [1] It uses generative artificial intelligence technology from OpenAI. [2]

Contents

Matador Network is a San Francisco-based digital media company and online travel publication with millions of monthly visitors and social media followers. [3]

Features

Users message GuideGeek questions about travel and receive customized answers and itineraries that are pulled from ChatGPT in addition to over 1,000 additional travel-specific integrations such as live flight, hotel and vacation rental data. Travelers can specify their budget and needs to generate custom itineraries. [4] GuideGeek is not an app and does not require the user to download anything, instead relying on messaging apps such as Instagram to connect users with the AI. [5] GuideGeek is free to use, doesn’t include ads, and doesn’t sell user data. [6]

Matador Network has a team of staff members monitoring conversations to correct them if the AI makes a false statement; for example, one user incorrectly inputted “Crete Freeze” instead of “Crete, Greece”, and the AI made up a fictional soft serve company. Using a technique known as reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF), the accuracy of GuideGeek increased to 98%, according to Matador Network CEO, Ross Borden. [7] [6]

Destination partnerships

Matador Network is monetizing GuideGeek via white-label partnerships with tourism bureaus and destination marketing organizations (DMOs). [8] As of March 2024, it had over a dozen such clients. [3] Estes Park, Colorado, was one of the first DMOs to partner with Matador for a custom version of GuideGeek called “Rocky Mountain Roamer.” [9]

For Discover Greece, Matador created Pythia, a custom AI named after the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. As Borden explained to Travel + Leisure, “Visitors to the Discover Greece website will find Pythia in the bottom right corner, and they can converse with the AI like a friend who knows everything about Greece.” [10] Other DMOs who have partnerships with GuideGeek include the Aruba Tourism Authority, [11] Visit Reno Tahoe, [12] Illinois Office of Tourism, [13] and Tourism Richmond. [14]

Awards

In recognition of GuideGeek, Fast Company named Matador Network to its 2024 list of Most Innovative Companies. [3] Following growth driven by the launch of GuideGeek, Matador Network was ranked on the 2024 Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in America. [15] The 2024 Skift IDEA Awards recognized Matador Network as a finalist in the category of Best Use of AI for GuideGeek’s customized AI for the travel industry. [16]

Michael Motamedi experiment

Travel influencer and chef Michael Motamedi traveled the world with his wife Vanessa Salas and their 2-year-old daughter on a six-month trip (which was later extended to a full year) led by GuideGeek. The family started off in Morocco before heading to Spain and continuing east. [17]

The experiment became the basis of a web series called “No Fixed Address.” Motamedi used GuideGeek's AI to select countries the family visited, where they ate, and what sites they saw. Motamedi and Salas first tested out the technology in April 2023 while using the chatbot to plan a date night in Mexico City. GuideGeek provided speakeasy and drink recommendations as well as local history facts. [18]

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References

  1. ↑ Sills, Joe. "Matador CEO Says A.I.-Powered Travel Tool GuideGeek Can Forge Human Connections". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  2. ↑ "Are You Ready to Hand Over Your Travel Planning to the ChatGPT and AI Bots?". AFAR Media. 2023-04-25. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  3. 1 2 3 Kelso, Stirling (2024-03-19). "GuideGeek is the travel chatbot that you'll actually want to use". Fast Company. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  4. ↑ Bizouati-Kennedy, Yaël (2024-03-22). "4 Ways AI Travel Assistants Can Save You Money on Your Next Vacation". Nasdaq. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  5. ↑ Stacey, Adam; July 26th, Skift; EDT, 2023 at 4:30 PM (26 July 2023). "IDEAS: GuideGeek Launches AI-powered Travel Assistant on Instagram". Skift. Retrieved 2024-09-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. 1 2 "Travel tackles AI hallucinations". www.travelweekly.com. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  7. ↑ Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report (2024-05-15). "Even with glitches, planning your next trip with AI is making me rethink travel". Fox News. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  8. ↑ Williams, Carl (2024-07-31). "GuideGeek Pioneers Custom AI for the Travel Industry". Tech Times. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  9. ↑ "Visit Estes Park launches AI-based tool to aid visitors – BizWest". 2024-05-03. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  10. ↑ "How to Plan a Trip to Greece on a Budget — Affordable Hotels and Money-saving Tips Included". Travel + Leisure. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  11. ↑ Koumelis, Theodore (2024-05-22). "Aruba details new technology, sustainability initiatives, hotel developments, and more in honor of Caribbean Travel Marketplace 2024". TravelDailyNews International. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  12. ↑ LINCOLN, SOPHIE (2024-08-30). "Visit Reno Tahoe redesigns website, incorporates AI tools". KRNV. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  13. ↑ Grant, Claire. "Big Lincoln: How Illinois is using lifelike Abraham Lincoln to help tourists, businesses". The State Journal-Register. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  14. ↑ Ltd, Kostuch Media (2024-09-19). "Tourism Richmond Adopts GuideGreek Travel AI". Hotelier Magazine. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  15. ↑ "Inc. 5000 No. 3,572: Matador Network". Inc. 2024-08-13. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  16. ↑ Meyer, Nicole (2024-07-30). "Skift IDEA Awards: Meet the 2024 Finalists". Skift. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  17. ↑ Rich, DeMuro (2023-05-29). "Traveling? Install this handy AI chatbot now". KTLA. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  18. ↑ Towey, Hannah. "Meet the family letting an AI chatbot plan a 6-month trip around the world with their one-year-old daughter". Business Insider. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
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