SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 14, 2026--
Otto The Agent, the AI travel assistant from Expedia, Egencia, and Concur veterans, today announced car rental booking, making Otto the only business travel AI that books and services a traveler's entire trip in a single conversation. Flights and hotels have been live since early 2025; car rental completes the trip.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260714772703/en/
Most AI travel tools plan. Otto books and services the trip, end to end - starting from your meetings. Tell Otto, “I have a 10am meeting with Microsoft in Redmond on Tuesday,” and it goes to work: finding the meeting address, timing your flight, booking a hotel close by, recognizing you'll need a rental car, and arranging all of it.
Car rental includes corporate negotiated rates, so companies keep their existing supplier discounts automatically, plus loyalty support so travelers keep earning rewards. Because Otto doesn't just book but also services the trip, travelers can modify, extend, or cancel in the same conversation - with 24/7 human agents on demand.
Otto brings the same hyper-personalization to cars as flights and hotels, learning your vehicle class, rental companies, loyalty numbers, and pickup habits, then surfacing the right car first. No re-entering membership numbers. Just the right car, ready to confirm.
“A business trip is a flight, a hotel, and a car, and until now you had to wrangle all three yourself. Otto now handles the whole trip the way my own EA once did for me - booking it, servicing it, and fixing it when plans change,”said Michael Gulmann, CEO and Founder of Otto The Agent.
Car rental is live now for all Otto users at no additional cost - across web, mobile, email, Microsoft Teams, Slack, and AI assistants via MCP, including Anthropic's Claude Connectors and OpenAI's ChatGPT app.
About Otto The Agent
Otto The Agent gives every business traveler the experience of a world-class executive assistant. Cofounded in Seattle by CEO Michael Gulmann, former Chief Product Officer of Expedia Group, and CTO CD Wang, Otto is backed by Madrona Ventures and former CEOs of Expedia, Orbitz, and Concur. Learn more at OttoTheAgent.com.
From a simple request, Otto The Agent finds your preferred Car Rental Agency and finds the best price that fits your Travel Policy. Now available for any business traveler.
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine's air force said Tuesday it intercepted five ballistic missiles launched by Russia in a raft of overnight attacks, although other missiles and drones got through and hit warehouses and a school in the capital of Kyiv.
It was the first time in almost two weeks that Ukraine said it had downed Russian ballistic missiles, which are harder to stop than drones or cruise missiles and have pummeled the country in Moscow's 4-year-old full-scale invasion.
Ukrainian air defenses likely used the U.S.-made Patriot surface-to-air guided missile system that is the most effective way of countering ballistic missiles, but ammunition for it has been in short supply amid the Iran war despite European efforts to make up for the shortfall.
Along the cobblestoned Champs-Elysees in Paris, crowds cheered Ukrainian troops marching in the annual Bastille Day parade, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy received an ovation from European leaders who showed solidarity with Kyiv. Ukrainian aviators trained in France flew aboard two Mirage 2000B fighter jets alongside French air force pilots.
Zelenskyy was in France seeking a remedy to his country's air defense problem, and he announced Monday that Ukraine is joining with nine other nations to form a coalition that will build a shared ballistic missile shield for Europe. Ukraine and its partners could jointly develop a mass-produced, low-cost system in the next 12 months, he said.
The Bastille Day parade featured about 500 troops from the ″coalition of the willing″ group of countries that have pledged to help with Ukraine’s postwar security. French President Emmanuel Macron called it a ″great honor″ to welcome them to the parade.
Tuesday's attack in Kyiv caused fires at two warehouses and also damaged a school, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement it targeted military manufacturing facilities that produce long-range missiles and drones.
Moscow is seeking to choke off Ukrainian strikes on oil facilities deep inside Russia that have caused critical fuel shortages, frustrating the public and, Western analysts say, are hindering the Russian army’s advance on the front line.
Ukraine’s air force said one ballistic missile and 25 drones struck 17 locations, while falling debris was reported in 10 locations.
Ukraine urgently needs to improve its air defense shield before winter. Much of the country is at the mercy of Russian missiles that have hammered its power grid since 2022, making winters almost unbearable.
President Donald Trump said at the NATO summit last week that the U.S. will give Ukraine a license to make Patriot systems itself. However, they are expensive, in high demand and take a long time to produce, so it will likely be years before any Ukrainian-made systems are ready to deploy.
Ukraine, meanwhile, kept up its long-range onslaught on Russian targets, especially oil facilities.
An attack in southern Russia's Krasnodar region caused a fire at the Afipsky Oil Refinery that was later put out, authorities there said.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine also hit an oil refinery in the city of Salavat in the Bashkortostan region, some 1,400 kilometers (900 miles) from the Ukrainian border. Bashkortostan Gov. Radiy Khabirov confirmed an attack on an industrial area in Salavat, but didn’t say what was hit.
In addition, the Ukrainian navy struck four Russian tankers operating as part of Moscow's so-called shadow fleet of aging tankers of uncertain ownership and safety practices that are dodging international oil sanctions and a patrol boat, Zelenskyy said.
Ukraine claimed Monday it struck 105 Russian vessels in the Sea of Azov next to the Crimean Peninsula between July 6-13.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its air defenses overnight intercepted 288 Ukrainian drones.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has rebuffed ceasefires offered by Zelenskyy.
“This war must be brought to an end, and all reasonable diplomatic proposals are on the table,” Zelenskyy said on social media.
—-
Eva Van Dam contributed from Paris.
Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife Olena Zelenska attend the Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees avenue, in Paris, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
French President Emmanuel Macron, his wife Brigitte Macron, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife Olena Zelenska, Heads of State and Government of the Coalition of the Willing, President of the National Assembly Yael Braun-Pivet, and President of the Senate Gerard Larcher pose for a family photo after the annual Bastille Day military parade on the Place de la Concorde in Paris, France, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (Benoit Tessier/Pool photo via AP)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife Olena Zelenska leave after the Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees avenue, in Paris, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
Ukrainian soldiers march during the Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees avenue, in Paris, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
French President Emmanuel Macron, right, speaks with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky after the Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees avenue, in Paris, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, left, and French President Emmanuel Macron address a press conference after the Coalition of the Willing summit on security guarantees for Ukraine in Paris, Monday, July 13, 2026. (Teresa Suarez/Pool Photo via AP)
