Product design question

Design a travel app for Google.

Practice this question out loud. An AI interviewer asks it, follows up like a real interviewer would, and scores your answer. Type or speak.

What this question tests

Product design for a travel vertical, checking you can identify a wedge Google is uniquely positioned to own, given existing Search and Maps data.

Clarify scope, whether this is a new standalone app or a feature within Google Maps or Search, and confirm the target user, trip planners versus in-destination travelers.
List pain points: fragmented planning across multiple sites and tabs, generic recommendations not personalized to actual interests, and difficulty tracking an itinerary in one place.
Identify Google's advantage, its existing Search, Maps, and Flights data, which could unify planning that competitors have to build from scratch.
Propose the design: a trip planning surface that aggregates flight, lodging, and itinerary data pulled from a user's existing Gmail confirmations and Search history, with personalized recommendations layered on top.
Prioritize the unification and personalization angle first, since Google's unique advantage is data breadth other travel apps lack, not building another generic booking engine.
Define success as completed trip plans and repeat use across multiple trips, confirming scope on whether booking transactions are included.

Leverages Google's unique cross-product data advantage, Search, Maps, Gmail, and Flights, to unify trip planning in a way dedicated travel apps cannot easily replicate.
Proposes a concrete mechanism, auto-populating itineraries from Gmail booking confirmations, grounded in a real, existing Google capability.
Names the sharpest pain point precisely, fragmentation across tools and tabs, and designs directly against it with a single unified surface.
Sets a measurable success metric, completed and reused trip plans, tied to whether the unification actually delivers value over ad hoc planning.

Building a generic travel app that duplicates Expedia or TripAdvisor with no real differentiation.
Not leveraging Google's actual cross-product data advantage.
Ignoring privacy considerations around using Gmail data for itinerary auto-population.

How would you handle user privacy concerns around pulling data from Gmail for itineraries?
How would this differentiate enough from existing Google Maps trip features?