GuideGeek, the Free AI Travel Assistant from Matador Network, Now Available on Facebook Messenger
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 6, 2024 — GuideGeek, the OpenAI-powered travel assistant from leading travel publisher Matador Network, is now available to Facebook Messenger users. Travelers can message GuideGeek for no cost on Facebook (in addition to WhatsApp and Instagram) to get instant, personalized tips from the travel AI that is a favorite of industry influencers.
“This integration with Facebook Messenger will get GuideGeek into more hands and pockets of travelers all over the world,” says Ross Borden, CEO of Matador Network. “WhatsApp and Instagram work seamlessly with GuideGeek and we’re excited that another Meta platform has become a part of our users’ journeys.”
GuideGeek currently has hundreds of thousands of active users and is on track to reach one million users by April. To date, it has answered more than 3.7 million questions in 42 different languages from travelers in 61 countries. GuideGeek is free to use, add free, and users don’t have to download anything or register — they simply message the AI on WhatsApp, Instagram or Messenger.
GuideGeek’s answers are based on a mix of original Matador content, proprietary datasets and OpenAI’s GPT-4 language model. GuideGeek is known for its exceptional accuracy, achieved through rigorous use of reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF). Human travel experts have monitored hundreds of thousands of GuideGeek conversations to identify the few that go awry and to use those conversations to better train the AI.
“Everyone familiar with AI knows that the technology comes with its share of hallucinations, or inaccurate information. Our team has done a ton of work to bring GuideGeek up to 98% accuracy,” Borden says. “Hitting these milestones and beating the industry norms has really helped us scale GuideGeek in less than a year.”
Meta recently reported that it has 3.96 billion monthly active users of its core products, which includes Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram. Meta also reported that more than one billion Facebook users reach out to businesses using Messenger on a weekly basis.
According to a recent survey from Matador Network, 64% of travelers either have used or plan to use AI to assist with travel. That number jumps to 75% for business travelers.
GuideGeek is monetized through partnerships with destination marketing organizations (DMOs). These organizations can license a custom version of the AI to interact with travelers about a specific destination through the partner’s own Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram accounts.
“When ChatGPT came out, [people] thought everyone was going to go there for everything,” Borden recently told the audience at the Skift Global Forum in Dubai. “I think where we’re going is a place where every brand, every airline, every DMO is going to want to have their own AI based on their own data, their own brand, their own content.”
About Matador Network
Matador Network is the world's No. 1 media brand for modern adventurers. With more than 14 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. matadornetwork.com