Case Study: How Agoda turned trip planning into an AI-powered experience with Ayushmann Khurrana

Agoda launched the AI-powered Vacation Planner to tackle destination overload and itinerary anxiety, offering travellers personalised trip ideas through eight quick questions. The tool used AI to generate customised itineraries, hyper-realistic visuals and a video featuring Ayushmann Khurrana delivering tailored recommendations.

The campaign went live across Meta and YouTube with targeted plans for solo, family and couple travellers, supported by influencer collaborations and media outreach. User-generated reactions and influencer-led storytelling amplified visibility, turning the activation into a shareable, social-first travel experience.

Category introduction 

The global online travel market, currently valued at over $500 billion, is projected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of around 10 per cent through 2030. This expansion is largely influenced by factors such as the rise of the middle class, an increasing number of digital-first millennials and Gen Z travellers and growing demand for personalised, short-haul and spontaneous gateways.

Brand introduction

Agoda is a Singapore-headquartered digital travel platform that is part of Booking Holdings (Nasdaq: BKNG). The platform provides access to a global network of hotels, holiday properties, flights and activities. Its website and mobile app are available in 39 languages, supported by round-the-clock customer service.

Summary

Addressing the growing challenges of destination overload and itinerary anxiety in the online travel space, Agoda launched the AI-powered Vacation Planner to simplify and personalise the trip planning journey for travellers.

The campaign invited users to answer eight questions, with AI tools generating customised itineraries, hyper-realistic visuals and a personalised video delivered by actor Ayushmann Khurrana.

Distributed through Meta, YouTube and influencer-led praomotions, the activation targeted solo, family and couple personas with contextualised messaging.

Objectives

The primary objective of the campaign was to reimagine trip planning by addressing key consumer barriers - destination overload and itinerary anxiety - through an immersive, AI-powered, social-first experience. Further, the campaign aimed to:

• Increase awareness and consideration for Agoda by using engaging and creative storytelling.
• Drive intent and traffic to Agoda’s core booking funnels by simplifying the planning process and inspiring action.
• Position itself as a partner in the dream stage, not just the booking stage. 
• Drive consideration for Agoda’s ‘hotel + flight’ offerings with emotional, tech-led storytelling. 
• Make the campaign hyper-personalised, down to the 1:1 communication level, in a way that has never been done before.

Brief

“Can we make travel discovery so personalised, so fun and so visually rich that users feel the joy of planning the trip rather than running away from it?"

The solution had to go beyond ads. It had to feel like an experience.

Creative Idea

The core creative idea behind the campaign was to combine three elements:

• You (the traveller)
• AI (to plan your ideal trip)
• Ayushmann Khurrana (to deliver the message)

The user (you/the traveller) answered eight easy questions: name, budget, bucket list moment, month of travel, personality type, who they’re with, length of stay and preference of travel, whether domestic or international.

Behind the scenes, AI worked its wonders:

• Gemini recommended destinations and built a day-wise itinerary.
• Google Imagen 3 generated 20,000+ hyper-realistic visuals to match hidden gems in the selected destination with the user’s personality.
• A generative voice model and lip-sync engine brought Ayushmann to life, saying the traveller’s name, their trip details and sharing hidden gems as if he thought of them specifically for you.

In the end, users received a personalised, dynamic video, complete with a hidden discount code to book on Agoda.

Execution

• Three hook videos were created and adapted into 21 variations, each designed to appeal to different user personas - Solo, Family and Couple travellers.
• These videos were hyper-contextualised and tailored to each persona using YouTube’s contextual targeting.
• The campaign was launched across Meta and YouTube to maximise awareness and drive traffic to the campaign site.
• Influencers were engaged to promote the tool by creating their playful versions.

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Result

• The campaign was tested against a BAU campaign through a Brand Lift Survey and showed stronger performance on engagement metrics.
• IT reached over 50 million unique users.
• Achieved a higher click-through rate (CTR) compared to the BAU campaign.
• Delivered a 15% higher View-Through Rate (VTRAI-powered Vacation Planner) than the BAU campaign.
• Secured above-average earned coverage in Tier 1 media.
• Generated excitement among users, with many sharing reactions such as, “I just got a trip video with Ayushmann planning my holiday!”

Speaking about the brand campaign, Matteo Frigerio, Chief Marketing Officer at Agoda, “We set out to do more than launch another celebrity ad. We wanted to create an experience. The Agoda Vacation Planner is a remarkable result through a blend of AI, storytelling, and a deep understanding of what today’s travellers really seek: less stress, more inspiration and a touch of magic.”