BARCELONA, Spain, June 18,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- For the past 12 months,
Michael Motamedi, Vanessa Salas and their two-year-old daughter
have circumnavigated the world using AI travel genius GuideGeek to
choose which countries to visit and what to experience at each of
their destinations. Starting in June
2023, the family visited Morocco, Spain, France, Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, UAE, Maldives, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines and Curaçao, relying on AI every
step of the way.
A survey from GuideGeek parent company Matador Network found
that more than half of travelers — especially families with
kids — may use AI to plan and book travel this summer.
Travelers can message GuideGeek for free on WhatsApp, Instagram and
Facebook Messenger for complete itineraries or realtime travel
advice. The AI has answered more than 7.7 million questions since
launching 15 months ago.
"Get creative and go beyond just asking for the best cocktails
or tapas or whatever," says Motamedi, who often asked GuideGeek to
plan a day for him through the eyes of a famous person associated
with the city he was visiting, such as Picasso or Dalí. He
says open-ended questions can lead to fantastic discoveries you'd
never think of — such as visiting the country of Montenegro.
"Montenegro was a total
surprise from GuideGeek," says Salas. "When GuideGeek picked it, we
were both like, 'What?' But it was one of my favorite places we
visited — beautiful, unassuming and not on any list I've ever
seen."
Other noteworthy adventures suggested by the AI included hanging
out with a falconer in the desert outside Dubai, making driftwood art after
snorkeling in Curaçao and eating eel soup at the far edge of
an island in the Philippines.
GuideGeek also assisted with simple daily needs, like finding
playgrounds for the couple's daughter.
"As with any AI, you're going to feel compelled to double check
GuideGeek with Google," says Motamedi. "But GuideGeek has gotten so
accurate that we started just getting recommendations from it and
diving in immediately. It has really freed us to be present with
the places and people we're visiting."
GuideGeek now checks in real time if restaurants and attractions
it's recommending are open, as well as pricing and hours. By using
reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF) — where curators
monitored over 1.4 conversations to help train the AI and improve
user experience — GuideGeek's accuracy has increased from 85% to
98%. The accuracy of the service has made it an appealing choice
for partners looking to connect with travelers.
"We're launching custom versions of GuideGeek with DMOs all
around the country — Illinois is
the latest," says Matador Network CEO Ross
Borden. "Creators like Michael and Vanessa have been
instrumental in road testing this technology and helping us
fine-tune it to the point that travel brands across the world see
it as a key part of their future."
After their trip around the world, Motamedi and Salas have
decided to return to one of their favorite stops on their journey
for an extended stay: Barcelona.
"I love the food, and the ability to walk down the Gothic
Quarter and get some chorizo and wine and just hang out with the
people," says Motamedi. "There's so much more to discover in this
city, and GuideGeek is going to continue to be a huge help."
Motamedi and Salas also recently launched a podcast called No
Fixed Address: The World's Most Extraordinary People featuring
interviews with some of the most remarkable individuals they
encounter in their travels. Recent guests include a cuteness expert
in Japan and Grammy-winner
Macy Gray. Subscribe on services
like Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and follow Michael Motamedi on TikTok.
guidegeek.com
About Matador Network
Matador Network is the world's No. 1 media brand for modern
adventurers. With more than 16 million followers across social
media, Matador has become a leading travel brand through its
production of article features, city guides, creator-first content
and original videos. Matador is the top-ranking travel brand on
TikTok and its videos are viewed more than 140 million times per
month. It has content distribution deals with American Airlines,
Hearst Media and GSTV, and works with brands like Ford, REI,
Samsung, YETI, Southwest Airlines, Visit California and Microsoft.
Fast Company named Matador Network a 2024 Most Innovative
Company. matadornetwork.com
Media Contact:
Jason Simms
860-526-1555
379260@email4pr.com
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SOURCE Matador Network