SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 14, 2026--
Today Expedia Group released The AI Trust Gap report, revealing a growing disconnect between how travelers use AI chatbots and agents and where they book. While AI is quickly becoming a go-to tool for trip planning and inspiration, travelers still overwhelmingly rely on trusted travel brands for booking and support.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260414532485/en/
The Expedia Group survey, which interviewed more than 5,700 adults across the U.S., U.K., and India, highlights a defining shift in travel: AI is reshaping discovery, but trust — not technology — is the deciding factor in where travelers transact.
Travelers embrace AI for discovery and planning
Expedia Group research shows that travelers are open to using AI chatbots and agents to help with planning a trip:
However, traditional channels still dominate trip planning
Even as travelers experiment with AI, familiar tools continue to lead in the planning phase:
When it’s time to book, travelers still turn to trusted brands
Despite growing comfort with using AI in the planning phase, travelers are not ready to transact with the technology: The AI Trust Gap is most pronounced at the point of purchase, where travelers clearly favor trusted travel brands over AI booking tools:
Travelers’ concerns about AI-driven transactions center on:
Travelers want accountability – not just automation
As a high-stakes category, travel amplifies the importance of trust in both technology and customer support . When something goes wrong, travelers expect reliable support and real accountability:
"Travelers don't have a technology problem with AI. They have a trust problem," said Xavi Amatriain, Chief AI & Data Officer at Expedia Group. "AI is already transforming how people plan, discover and experience travel. But travelers aren’t interested in booking a trip through an AI chatbot, and what’s holding them back isn’t model quality or features. It’s trust. Trust in travel isn’t built through technology alone. It’s built through real-world relationships and assets, strong customer support, and decades of deep industry knowledge. That kind of foundation takes time to build."
What this means for the travel ecosystem
For the travel industry, this creates both a challenge and an opportunity. Travelers are starting to plan their trips in new places — AI assistants, conversational search, and social platforms — but they are still booking and managing their trips where trust is strongest. This fragmentation makes distribution more complex, but also more critical across the full journey.
The opportunity lies in offering innovative, AI-powered experiences at every stage of the traveler journey, while being the trusted place where travelers discover, book, manage, and complete their trips.
To read more about The AI Trust Gap in travel and explore additional findings, visit the Expedia Group partner blog.
Methodology
The AI Trust Gap research, which was commissioned by Expedia Group and conducted by YouGov, surveyed more than 5,700 adults across the U.S., U.K., and India from March 10-25, 2026. The survey explored attitudes toward AI across the full travel journey, including planning, booking, and in-trip support, as well as trust, concerns, and future expectations.
About Expedia Group
Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) is the global travel marketplace with one purpose: to help travelers explore the world, one journey at a time. Expedia Group™ connects travelers, partners, and advertisers through its trusted brands, leading technology, and rich first-party data, delivering predictive, personalized experiences that shape the future of travel.
Expedia Group’s ecosystem includes three flagship consumer brands – Expedia®, Hotels.com®, and Vrbo® – the largest B2B travel business, and a premier advertising network. Guided by an experienced and passionate global team, Expedia Group helps millions of travelers in more than 70 countries explore the world with confidence and ease.
© 2026 Expedia, Inc., an Expedia Group company. All rights reserved. Expedia Group and the Expedia Group logo are trademarks of Expedia, Inc. CST: 2029030-50.
Expedia Group's AI Trust Gap report reveals a growing disconnect between how travelers use AI chatbots and agents and where they book
ANNANDALE, Va. (AP) — Court records show that former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax was facing a court-ordered deadline to move out of his family’s home before police say he killed his his wife and then himself.
Police say officers found the bodies of Fairfax and his wife, Dr. Cerina Fairfax, at the home early Thursday in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Annandale. A Virginia judge in March told Justin Fairfax he had to move out by the end of April amid what police say was a messy divorce.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
ANNANDALE, Va. (AP) — Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, a rising star in the Democratic Party before his career was derailed by sexual assault allegations six years ago, killed his wife before killing himself, police said Thursday.
Fairfax, 47, and his wife, Dr. Cerina Fairfax, 49, were found dead in their home in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Annandale after their son called 911 shortly after midnight, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said.
The couple appeared to be going through a messy divorce but still living in the same house with their two teenage children, who were home when the deaths occurred, he said.
Cerina Fairfax said in court filings that they separated nearly two years ago and that she filed for divorce last summer.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org
Justin Fairfax was recently served with paperwork telling him when next to appear in court, Davis said. In January, officers went to the home after Justin Fairfax alleged that his wife had assaulted him, he said.
“Apparently, Mrs. Fairfax, at some point during these divorce proceedings, set up a lot of cameras inside the home. We reviewed those cameras, and we corroborated that the alleged assault never occurred,” Davis said.
The couple, who met as undergraduates at Duke University, married in 2006. Cerina Fairfax ran a family dentistry practice. She also attended the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry, which honored her in 2015 as an outstanding alumna.
A profile page on her office website described her as an avid reader who liked to travel, practice yoga, go on trail runs with her Vizsla-breed dogs, and “spend time with her wonderful family.”
“It’s very sad for this community,” Davis said. “A lot of people who know the Fairfax family, everybody’s shocked. We’re shocked.”
For a brief period in 2019, Justin Fairfax seemed poised to become Virginia's second Black governor as Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam became engulfed in a scandal over a racist photo in his medical school yearbook that led to calls for his resignation. Fairfax would have automatically become governor if Northam had stepped down.
But then two women came forward accusing Fairfax of sexually assaulting them years earlier. He adamantly denied the allegations, saying they were part of a smear campaign. He was never charged.
An aide to Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards said Fairfax sexually assaulted her during the Democratic National Convention in 2004. Two days after she came forward, another woman accused him of raping her in 2000, when they were students at Duke.
Fairfax said the encounters were consensual and refused calls to resign. He later tried to run for governor in 2021, but was largely shunned by Virginia Democrats and defeated in the Democratic primary.
Court filings show that Fairfax had financial challenges following the sexual assault allegations, which prompted his resignation as a partner at a prestigious law firm. The IRS filed a lien against the couple for more than $91,000 in unpaid taxes that was resolved in 2021.
A former federal prosecutor and civil litigator, Fairfax first unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for attorney general in 2013, then won the race for lieutenant governor in 2017.
While he was running for attorney general, he praised his wife for her support and said he had left his job to seek office with her backing. “She’s the rock upon which we have built this family and this campaign,” he said.
The deaths stunned political leaders throughout the state.
“We are keeping Cerina and Justin Fairfax’s family — especially their two children — in our prayers as we all process this shocking and horrifying news,” Virginia’s Democratic U.S. senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, said in a joint statement.
Fairfax had served as co-chair for Warner’s 2014 reelection campaign.
Virginia's Democratic governor, Abigail Spanberger, posted on X that she was deeply saddened and praying for the couple’s children and families.
“This tragedy reminds us that domestic violence can occur in any family and in any place,” she wrote. “Resources are available to support our neighbors experiencing domestic violence and facing mental health crises.”
Biesecker reported from Fairfax County, Virginia. Associated Press reporters Sarah Brumfield in Cockeysville, Maryland, Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tennessee, Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington, Allen G. Breed in Wake Forest, North Carolina, and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed to this report.
Fairfax County coroners remove a body from the home of former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, in Annandale, Va., Thursday, April 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
Fairfax County coroners, with two bodies in the van, prepare to leave the home of former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, in Annandale, Va., Thursday, April 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
FILE - Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, right, and his wife, Cerina, at the inauguration of Gov. Ralph Northam at the Capitol in Richmond, Va., Saturday, Sept. 13, 2018. (AP Photo/Kevin Morley, File)
Fairfax County police confer in front of the home of former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, in Annandale, Va., Thursday, April 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
FILE - Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, speaks to supporters at Pink Fish restaurant in Hampton, Va., Thursday, April 8, 2021. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)
Fairfax County coroners remove a body from the home of former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, in Annandale, Va., Thursday, April 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
Fairfax County police secure the home of former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, in Annandale, Va., Thursday, April 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
Fairfax County coroners remove a body from the home of former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, in Annandale, Va., Thursday, April 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
FILE - Democratic candidate for Governor of Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax answers a question during a debate held in Bristol, Va., on Thursday, May 6, 2021. (David Crigger/Bristol Herald Courier via AP, File)
Police investigte the scene of an apparent domestic-related shooting early Thursday, April 16, 2026in Annandale, Va. (WJLA via AP)
