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 from handling bookings and other purchases directly on ChatGPT . Instead, the AI startup is opting to push transactions into third-party apps. That sent shares of online travel agents Expedia and Booking.com soaring on Thursday. The shift, reported by The Information, amounts to a notable strategic retreat.