Public SaaS companies are struggling, but those like Twilio and Airbnb that have aggressively integrated AI are seeing stock rebounds. AI is no longer a feature but a core survival strategy, enabling cost reduction and new revenue streams.

While AI threatens travel aggregators, Booking's defense lies in its specialized, hard-to-replicate relationships with hotels. AI tools may become the user interface but could still rely on Booking's backend connections, preserving its role as an essential intermediary.

In an era where AI can easily replicate software, businesses with enduring value are those that interact with the physical world or have strong network effects. Marketplaces like Uber and Airbnb are more defensible than pure infrastructure software, which lacks these real-world moats.

The threat of AI disintermediating platforms like Booking.com is mitigated by immense operational complexity. AI firms are unlikely to want to manage global payment systems, customer service for bad travel experiences, and fragmented supplier relationships, just as Google previously avoided these challenges.

Dara Khosrowshahi argues that future travel innovation won't be in discovery, which LLMs will dominate. The real opportunity lies in creating AI agents for seamless booking and revolutionizing the "in-market" experience, such as eliminating physical hotel check-ins through mobile technology.

Unlike competitors embracing AI, Airbnb is intentionally avoiding integration with generative AI trip planners like ChatGPT. The company is making a high-risk bet that its brand is strong enough to retain direct bookings, rather than becoming a background "data layer" in a user journey that starts on another platform.

Fears of AI disintermediating platforms like Booking.com may be overblown. AI agents would need to replicate decades of user ratings, global payment infrastructure, and deep supplier relationships from scratch—a monumental task that makes it more likely incumbents will simply integrate AI themselves.

Fears of AI disruption have caused an overreaction in the market, depressing the stock prices of stable SaaS companies like HubSpot. Trading at just 3x forward revenue despite strong fundamentals, these firms represent a value opportunity driven by uncertainty, not just fundamental risk.

The success of AI agents in disintermediating existing platforms depends on the platform's control over its supply. Agents can easily bypass booking sites like Expedia by going directly to hotels. However, they can't replicate the real-time, controlled driver networks of services like Uber or DoorDash.