The world’s largest online booking platforms are preparing for the advent of artificial intelligence “agents”, signing partnerships with groups such as OpenAI in an effort to counter technology capable of arranging travel for customers without tapping their services.

Booking.com and Expedia are taking steps to deploy new AI-enabled features underpinned by models from OpenAI to automate services and launch new tools, including trip planners.

Airbnb has rolled out an AI-enabled customer service agent to handle customer queries, while it plans to launch more “agentic” functions on its platform next year.

The moves come as makers of AI agents — autonomous bots that can take actions on behalf of users — develop technology designed to make travel arrangements for users based on their unique preferences.

This could upend the $1.6tn global travel market, allowing more hotels and airlines to be accessed directly. That would disrupt the business model of dominant online travel agents that rely on the commissions and fees they can charge those businesses.