If you have ever tried to plan a vacation, you know the specific kind of digital fatigue that sets in around hour three. You have one tab open for flights, another for a hotel that looked good but might be too far from the city center, and a dozen more for reviews, maps, and restaurant reservations. It is a disjointed mess of information that Google is now attempting to clean up with a single update.

Google has officially turned its AI Mode into a capable travel assistant. The search giant is rolling out a suite of features that not only visualize your entire itinerary in one place but can also physically book reservations for you—a shift that moves its AI from a passive chatbot to an active agent.

The “Canvas” of your next trip

The centerpiece of this update is an expansion of Canvas, a workspace feature originally launched in March for coding and writing. It has now been retooled for travel.

Here is how it works: instead of juggling tabs, you simply describe your trip to Google’s AI Mode in Search. You might say, “Plan a three-day weekend in Chicago with a focus on architecture tours and deep-dish pizza.” You then select the option to “Create Canvas,” and the AI builds a dynamic document in a side panel.

This isn’t just a text list. It is a visual dashboard populated with real-time data. You get flight options, hotel recommendations, complete with photos and reviews from Google Maps, and a suggested itinerary. Because it is powered by Google’s live data, you can ask follow-up questions to refine it instantly, such as:

• “Find a hotel that is under $200 a night but still walking distance to the Loop.”
• “Swap the museum visit for a food tour.”

Currently, this visual planning capability is available to users in the US on desktop who have opted into the AI Mode experiment via Google Labs. It is a “sandbox” environment where you can mold a trip without committing to anything, with all your drafts stored in your AI Mode history for later access.

From planning to “agentic” booking

Perhaps more significant than planning the trip is Google’s move to handle the booking. This is what tech circles call “agentic AI”—software that can take action on your behalf rather than just retrieving information.

Starting this week, agentic booking for restaurants is rolling out to all US users (not just those in Labs). If you find a restaurant you like in your AI search, you can ask Google to book a table. The AI interfaces directly with partners like OpenTable, Resy, and Tock to secure the reservation without you ever leaving the search page.

For those still in the Labs experiment, the capabilities go even further. You can use the AI agent to purchase event tickets (via Ticketmaster, StubHub, SeatGeek, and others) or book local appointments, like a haircut or spa visit. The friction of clicking through to a third-party site, creating an account, and filling out forms is slowly being eroded.

Global Flight Deals for everyone

While the heavy “agentic” features are currently US-focused, Google is throwing a bone to international travelers as well. The Flight Deals feature, previously limited to the US, Canada, and India, has expanded globally.

It is now available in over 200 countries and territories and supports more than 60 languages. This feature uses AI to find “hacks” and cheaper routing options that a standard search might miss, aiming to serve budget-conscious travelers who are flexible with their dates or destinations.

Bad news for Expedia?

While this is convenient for users, it represents an existential threat to Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) like Expedia, Kayak, and Booking[.]com.

For years, these companies have relied on being the “middleman” where users compare prices. If Google keeps users on its own page—visualizing the trip, comparing hotels, and eventually booking flights directly—the need to visit a third-party aggregator diminishes.

Google is playing nice for now, stating that it is partnering with major players, including Booking[.]com, Expedia, Marriott International, and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts to roll out agentic booking for flights and hotels in the future. However, by controlling the “front door” of the travel experience, Google is effectively demoting these other platforms from destinations to mere backend utilities.

What’s next?

We are moving toward a future where you might say, “Book me a weekend in Paris next month for under $2,000,” and your AI will handle the flights, the hotel, and the dinner reservations while you sleep. We aren’t quite there yet, but with these updates, the days of “tab fatigue” are numbered.