Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy, a vacation rentals initiative, has launched a ChatGPT-like search tool that can help travellers and vacationers better explore their vacation options. The generative AI was developed in collaboration with digital transformation company Publicis Sapient.

The new tool, powered by Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service, allows users to use natural language to describe their ideal getaway and Home & Villas will take it from there, matching their query with suggested destinations and rentals from their catalogue of around 140,000 curated homes and villas.

Users of the tool are provided a personalized selection of results when they present a prompt, such as “I want to take a trip to California this summer where I can bring my dog” or “I want to travel to London, Paris or Vienna and stay in the city centre.”

“Finding exactly the right vacation home can be hard and time consuming but no longer,” said Peggy Fang Roe, Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Officer at Marriott International. “Building on our deep focus in understanding how customers think intuitively about finding the right vacation home combined with the power of generative AI changes the game in search for vacation rentals.”

Nigel Vaz, CEO of Publicis Sapient, stated: “Generative AI is set to change the customer experience paradigm and drive new ways for brands to provide value to their customers. The new Gen AI-powered search product for Home & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy is going to transform how guests can search and plan for vacations.”

“We’re excited to see this latest innovation from our unique outcome-based partnership with Marriott International come to market, accelerating how we partner to create exceptional products, services and experiences for Marriott customers and their business.”

Last year, in a move to help boost their AI digital transformation capabilities, Publicis Sapient purchased a full stake in an AI Lab that it helped to establish. Publicis Sapient AI Labs, an AI research and development platform, was launched together with Elder Research and Tquila in 2020.

The new tool for Home & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy leverages Microsoft’s cutting-edge AI technology. Microsoft has made many big moves in the area of AI in recent years, with Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella just recently announcing a number of multi-billion dollar investments in AI technology.

Some of that AI tech includes tools that help companies harness the power of AI in developing their own solutions. For example, Microsoft’s Azure AI Studio aids in the AI development lifecycle, while Microsoft 365 Copilot is designed to improve work-related productivity.