OpenAI's 'stunning admission': Maybe people don't want to book stuff inside ChatGPT

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman

Shelby Tauber/Reuters

• OpenAI wanted to handle bookings and other transactions on ChatGPT. Now, it might not.
• Shares of online travel agents Booking.com and Expedia surge on the news.
• TD Cowen analysts call OpenAI's retreat a "stunning admission."

Not so long ago, OpenAI would announce a grand expansion, and stocks in the relevant sector would swoon. Now, the opposite is happening.

News broke overnight that OpenAI is backing off...