Whalesbook
MakeMyTrip's AI-first strategy takes a leap forward with Myra 2.0, an upgraded AI assistant aimed at transforming travel bookings through seamless conversational commerce. This enhancement is set to boost user engagement and simplify the entire booking process, especially for a growing group of Indian travelers.
Myra 2.0: Conversational Travel Booking
The enhanced AI assistant, Myra 2.0, now manages complete travel bookings within a single text or voice interface. It allows users to search, select, pay for, and confirm itineraries. The assistant can handle complex requests, including multi-condition hotel preferences and detailed international travel plans, even factoring in transit visa needs. Myra 2.0's ability to process various inputs, such as passport data for autofill and context-based questions during booking, aims to make travel planning much easier. MakeMyTrip reports that its AI handles about three million conversations quarterly, with a significant 45% coming from tier-2 and smaller cities. Notably, interactions via Myra show higher conversion rates than traditional filter-based bookings, with voice commands, often in Hinglish, being more popular in non-metro areas. This highlights a clear focus on attracting the 'next billion users' in India.
AI Race in India's Online Travel Market
MakeMyTrip's strong focus on AI, including a collaboration with OpenAI, places it as a leader in India's online travel agency (OTA) sector. This comes as rivals also ramp up their AI offerings. EaseMyTrip has integrated ChatGPT for direct flight and hotel searches using natural language. Goibibo has long used AI for personalization, chatbots, and fare prediction, noting a 7.5% increase in hotel bookings from AI-powered video ads. Ixigo is also building its app around an AI assistant called Tara, prioritizing conversational trip planning. The Indian online travel market is substantial, expected to grow from roughly $23.1 billion in 2025 to $33.9 billion by 2030. Key growth is driven by tier-2 and smaller cities due to rising digital and smartphone use. MakeMyTrip's strategy directly targets this demographic, aiming to deepen its presence in less crowded market segments.
Valuation Concerns and Investor Scrutiny
Despite these technological advances, MakeMyTrip faces questions about its valuation. As of May 2026, the company's Price-to-Earnings (P/E) ratio is around 84.4x to 97.63x, considerably higher than the market average of about 38.64x and the technology sector average. Bank of America noted that while MakeMyTrip leads in AI adoption in India, its stock has experienced the largest valuation multiple compression (35%) year-to-date. Investors worry about potential disruptions to how people find travel options, lower booking commissions, and escalating costs for hyper-personalization. Increased short interest in recent months also suggests a decline in investor confidence. Additionally, the company dealt with a short-seller report from Morpheus Research in March 2026, though the stock has shown signs of recovery since. Standard risks mentioned in regulatory filings include economic slowdowns, travel industry volatility, strong competition, and reliance on technology.
Analyst Views and Growth Prospects
Analysts generally recommend a 'Moderate Buy' for MakeMyTrip, with some price targets indicating substantial potential upside. However, recent performance shows significant year-to-date losses, and stock prices have fluctuated, hitting 52-week lows earlier in the year. The company is scheduled to report its fiscal 2026 fourth-quarter and full-year financial results on May 19, 2026. Myra 2.0's success in turning AI-driven engagement into steady revenue growth and profit will be key to validating its strategy and future stock performance amid evolving market dynamics and competitive pressures.