Overview
SearchSpot AI is an AI-powered trip planner that consolidates travel research, booking, and itinerary management into one conversational interface.
The Problem: Why 15 Tabs Exist
I didn’t start with assumptions. I started with conversations.
Between Mar-Apr 2024, I interviewed 5 frequent travelers (mix of budget, mid-range, and luxury segments)
The pattern was geniunely Crazyy!!
Average of 15-18 browser tabs open during planning
Users jump between Google, Booking.com, Airbnb, TripAdvisor, blogs, and maps.
There’s no single place to search, compare, and visualize all aspects of a trip.
Planning a 5-day trip took 2-3 hours minimum, often split across multiple days.
The Core Insight
It wasn't that users wanted better individual tools. It was that the experience felt fragmented because it was just disconnected.
User were forced to juggle too much information mentally, jumping between platforms and Connecting things together themselves, which made it hard to trust their decisions or feel in control of the bigger picture.
User Flow
Before the pixels, I solidly had to back every action with good clarity. Mapping out every flow touchpoint over and over.
The Solution: Conversational + Visual + Organized
Rather than designing "Booking + Google + Notion," I focused on solving the core problem: making it easier for people to discover, compare, and decide without friction.
Three Core pillars:
1. Conversational Search → Ask for what you want like you're talking to a travel agent. "Find me a beachfront hotel in Goa with WiFi under $100 for March 15-18." No filtering through 50 checkboxes.
2. Visual Comparison & Context → See hotels on a map with prices. See restaurant ratings and distance from your hotel. See activity duration and how it fits your timeline. Context = confidence.
3. Organized Itinerary Builder → One workspace for your entire trip, Stays, meals, transport, activities all in timeline view so nothing falls through the cracks.
Design Highlights
Project Link
Measurable Impact: How Design Drove Results
We threw 14 testers into a WhatsApp group and watched them in real time. Immediate feedback, unfiltered reactions, actual people using it on their devices
This gave us direct, continuous feedback as they interacted with the product.
Business Metrics:
Key Learnings
— Overcommunication became part of the process, consistently sharing updates, Looms, and progress with engineers, teammates, and stakeholders to keep everyone aligned.
— Design is a craft shaped by care and intention. Thoughtful details can elevate even the simplest interfaces.
