From October, Google will stop offering direct booking functionality through its searches and will instead channel web users to partners such as airlines and OTAs.

Google said it has seen a declining share of Google Flights bookings coming from Book on Google, which was launched in 2015; at the time, Google said its aim to to help facilitate transactions for partners whose websites weren’t optimised for mobile phones.

Google said since that time, the travel industry and the web itself had evolved and partners’ mobile websites had "improved substantially".

The change will see Book on Google for flights functionality end on 30 September for users around the world, save for the US, where it will be disabled at the end of March 2023.

Google shuttered Book on Google for hotels in late May owing to declining usage.

“Over the next 12 months, we plan to phase out the Book on Google feature for flights," said a Google spokesperson.

"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."

Google said the majority of web users searching for flights now prefer to book directly on partner websites – such as those of the airline or OTAs offering flights – instead of via the Book on Google functionality embedded into the search.

"While Book on Google has been beneficial for some partners, overall we see a declining share of Google Flights bookings coming from the ‘Book on Google’ option," said the firm.