Google Phases Out a Once Cutting Edge Feature

Move comes amid a big shift in how people go about planning and booking their travel online.

Alphabet’s Google is one of a handful of companies that basically owns the internet. Or at least, it controls how we navigate the online world, interact with websites and how consumers find the services, and deals, they are looking for.

Alphabet  (GOOGL) – Get Alphabet Inc. Report had evolved into one of the biggest companies in the entire world. It started by mastering the humble web search, and branched off into Gmail, Google Docs and now offers everything from Google My Business to Google Classroom to healthcare related services such as Google Care Studio to cloud services.

But even a leviathan like Google isn’t immune to changing customer tastes, and the company is announcing that it is phasing out a feature it’s had for nearly a decade, a sign that the company is aware it can’t compete in every market.

What Feature Is Google Phasing Out?

Google has announced that it will phase out the Book on Google option for flights for non-U.S. users on Sept. 30 and for U.S. users on or after March 31.

The feature was launched in 2015, as a way for customers to book flights through companies whose websites weren’t adequately optimized for the mobile web. Reservations made before the cut-off date won’t be impacted. 

A similar Book on Google option for hotels was discontinued in May of this year. 

Why Is Google Getting Rid Of This Feature?

By 2015, it was kind of rare but not impossible to find any online-based business (which is the majority of businesses these days) that hadn’t fully optimized itself for the application-based smartphone economy. But those days are far behind us, and most companies have either caught up or gone out of business.  

Google now acknowledges that people would rather cut out a middle man when booking their latest flight, or would deal with a more established travel company like Travelocity, and that aspect of the service wasn’t needed any more.

“Over the next 12 months, we plan to phase out the Book on Google feature for flights. We originally offered this functionality to give people a simpler way to buy their tickets and to help our partner airlines and OTAs receive more bookings. However, we’ve found over time that people actually want to book directly on partner websites, and we always strive to meet user preferences whenever possible,” the company said in a statement.

While the option to book a flight directly through Google is closing, the Google Flights vertical will remain open and will continue to let customers click on airline and online travel agency links to book their flights. But Google will no longer take a small share of bookings on Google channels, but will refer all users to partners for bookings, which might mean customers will head directly to, say, Delta’s  (DAL) – Get Delta Air Lines Inc. Report website.

As noted by the travel news website Skift, “Some pundits saw Book on Google as the company creeping toward becoming an online travel agency, but that never appeared to be the intent.” In the end, Google made too much money on travel advertising to want to risk competing with its biggest partners, and had no appetite for dealing with flight changes, cancellations, or other aspects of customer service.

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