MakeMyTrip, Ixigo ink separate OpenAI tie-ups to boost AI Integration

India’s online travel majors — MakeMyTrip and Ixigo — are stepping up their artificial intelligence (AI) ambitions, each forging separate collaborations with OpenAI on Wednesday to streamline travel management, including planning and booking, tracking and policy compliance in a structured and cost-efficient way.

MakeMyTrip announced a collaboration with OpenAI to embed advanced AI capabilities across its travel planning ecosystem. The partnership aims to move users seamlessly from conversational travel inspiration to confirmed bookings through its AI interface, Myra. By integrating OpenAI’s APIs, the platform will convert natural language queries into structured, bookable options spanning flights, hotels and ancillary services.

For MakeMyTrip, the strategy is to capture high-intent queries at the inspiration stage and keep users within its ecosystem until transaction. The company said anchoring generative AI within its proprietary travel data stack would enable personalised recommendations at scale, turning chat-led discovery into a revenue engine rather than a mere engagement tool.

The move also sharpens its competitive edge in India’s crowded online travel agency (OTA) market, where MakeMyTrip commands over 50% share. Myra already handles more than 50,000 daily conversations across multiple Indian languages, with over 45% of interactions originating from Tier-2 and smaller cities. The integration of vernacular and voice-enabled features is expected to deepen penetration in these fast-expanding markets, where first-time digital travellers are increasingly seeking intuitive, conversation-led interfaces.

In parallel, Rival Ixigo, meanwhile, unveiled an expanded partnership with OpenAI to accelerate AI deployment across its group platforms, including ConfirmTkt and Abhibus. The company will leverage OpenAI’s Enterprise API to introduce advanced AI tools and next-generation coding models into its technology stack, enabling autonomous workflows, contextual assistants and AI-driven research use cases.

Ixigo said nearly 90% of its voice and chat-based customer support is already automated. Under its 2025 AI roadmap, dubbed ‘Project Trishul’, the company is focusing on three pillars: efficiency, revenue enhancement and technology-led disruption. The OpenAI collaboration is expected to strengthen AI-based coding, quality assurance and agentic workflows across business functions—from marketing and operations to product development.

The announcements underscore a broader inflection point for India’s travel tech sector. The Indian online travel market, estimated at over $23 billion in 2025, is seeing AI evolve from backend optimisation to front-end transaction driver. Industry projections suggest sustained double-digit growth in travel technology adoption through the next decade, with Indian travellers among the most comfortable globally in using AI for trip planning.