A top Booking.com exec shares his go-to AI prompt

In a bold move to harness the power of artificial intelligence, Booking.com is leveraging cutting-edge AI tools to enhance its competitive analysis. James Waters, the company's Chief Business Officer, revealed to Business Insider that he utilizes AI models like Claude, Gemini, and ChatGPT to gain insights into how rivals and technology firms are addressing significant strategic challenges. Waters emphasized the efficiency of this approach, stating, "That for me is super powerful, because I could theoretically do that research myself, but it would take days." Recently, he employed Claude to analyze customer reviews, examining everything from their presentation to how they are summarized and prioritized on various platforms. This ability to synthesize vast amounts of data rapidly allows Waters to focus on deeper analysis when necessary. The travel sector, including Booking.com, is undergoing a transformation driven by AI. The company has implemented AI agents to assist customers in researching and planning their trips, further personalizing these services as part of its Connected Trip initiative. Collaborations with leading AI organizations like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google are also underway, including the AI Trip Planner powered by OpenAI and a partnership with Anthropic that enables Claude users to book travel seamlessly during their conversations. Waters, who oversees various departments including product development and customer service, highlighted AI's significant impact on engineering, with developers increasingly relying on AI to write code. Meanwhile, teams in HR and finance are utilizing tools such as Claude Code for forecasting and financial assessments. The company culture is evolving, balancing excitement for new opportunities with caution regarding the potential risks of mismanagement. As with many enterprises, Booking.com is closely monitoring its AI expenditures. Recent remarks from Uber executives indicated challenges in justifying their AI budgets, echoing similar concerns at Booking.com. Waters explained that the company assesses its overall investments in AI tokens and personnel based on the value generated, stating, "I don't think it matters if you spend a whole load of money on tokens... because you're generating way more value at the end of the funnel." He acknowledged the importance of tracking token usage and identifying when more cost-effective models could be applied to simpler tasks. Looking ahead, Waters noted the need for improved visibility for product teams regarding their spending and revenue. "It's definitely in our mind," he stated, adding that managing AI costs is reminiscent of the challenges faced with cloud spending just a year or two ago, but with the potential for much faster growth if not approached sensibly.