You've probably heard the promise: AI can make your next trip better.
But can it really?
More than half of Americans (53 percent) used artificial intelligence to plan travel, according to a survey by Adobe. The top applications in travel include comparison shopping (93 percent), discovering the working hours for hotel services and restaurants (90 percent), and finding nearby parking, restaurants, and pharmacies (90 percent).
The poll doesn't say how well AI performed, including errors, hallucinations or simply misunderstanding the prompt.
And the truth is, AI isn't quite ready for prime time. It's often not up to date, it's imprecise, and the major AIs can't book a trip for you yet. But an AI can offer general recommendations, whittle down a lot of data into something you can use -- and it's lightning fast. (By the way, here's my free guide to planning the perfect trip.)
When should you use AI to plan a trip?
But there are also instances when AI can make your trip better. For example:
If you need a travel recommendation
"For people who would like to decide and shortlist where they want to travel, AI is useful," says Sangeeta Sadarangani, CEO of Crossing, a multinational travel agency headquartered in London. "I see AI as the raw material for creating a trip." But for the finesse, the elegance, and the deep personalization, a human being is still the best travel support. That's because no two clients are the same and this is where your personal travel advisor can curate a better itinerary for you. An AI just can't know you that well -- at least, not yet.
If you need to analyze lots of data
"Travelers are drowning in data," says Bob Bacheler, managing director of Flying Angels, a medical transport service. "AI can analyze vast amounts of this data to understand a traveler's preferences and history, offering highly personalized travel recommendations." So if you want to sift through megabytes of information and find something useful, like a restaurant recommendation or activity, AI may be able to help. It's especially useful when you also tell the AI your likes and dislikes.
If you're in a hurry
AI can suggest local activities and popular destinations in a few seconds in many different languages, generating rapid results that humans can't. AI can also handle some customer-service functions at hotels in just a fraction of the time a person would, according to Tim Hentschel, CEO of HotelPlanner.com. "Humans lack the speed and precision needed for such rapid analysis," he says.
"Overall, discovery is one of the best opportunities for AI in travel," says Shiyi Pickrell, Expedia's senior vice president of data and AI.
Expedia's research suggests travelers view 141 pages of travel content in the 45 days before booking a trip, she says.
"That's a lot of time spent just on planning and something that generative AI can simplify," she says.
So AI can be useful, as long as you know when to use it.
Here's when you should NOT use AI to plan travel
There are times when AI will not necessarily make your trip better. For example:
When you need the latest information
Many AIs don't have the latest information. "That makes using AI to plan a vacation extremely risky," says Brandon Foster, owner of Magic Lamp Vacations, a travel agency that specializes in theme park vacations. "An AI might be able to provide general recommendations such as 'What do I do if my flight is canceled?' But it will never be able to replace a human who does have the latest information." Pro tip: There is no substitute for conducting your own research, which includes contacting the business directly. Don't rely solely on an AI.
When you need insider information about a place
"You're unlikely to find local favorites and hidden gems," says Peggy Cleveland, author of "100 Things To Do In Tacoma Before You Die." And she should know; she specialized in finding both. She's queried ChatGPT many times to get insider information on Tacoma and sees frequent responses that would lead the average visitor to make a wrong decision about a restaurant or attraction. A well-written article researched by a human would have been more useful.
If you want to book an airline ticket or hotel room
None of the major AIs can find an airfare or hotel rate and book it for you yet, says John Maly, a lawyer and an expert witness on AI. "So right now, humans are better at this task than AIs, but that's largely because the AIs are denied direct access to the flight databases." This will probably change soon, but experts say you should be careful before jumping into booking travel with an AI. You could end up with a ticket you never ordered. (AIs like Skyscanner's Savvy Search and Gemini from Google use AI but still don't handle reservations.)
Generally, AI still has some gaping holes when it comes to functionality, according to experts.
"I still don't think we're at the point when AI can be trusted to do much in the way of booking trips or making travel-related arrangements," says Emily DeJeu, who teaches business management communication at Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business. "People are better at that because human agents, like travel agents, understand they are accountable for getting things right, and that accountability creates trust."
My misadventures with AI
I've had a tortured relationship with AI since the first version of ChatGPT flickered to life. I love the speed and depth of knowledge of artificial intelligence. For example, it generated a full itinerary when I planned my recent reporting trip to the Caribbean, which was mostly reliable.
And there's that word -- "mostly." AI has recommended destinations that were closed, supplied me with inaccurate information about opening hours, and sent me to closed attractions. I can't fully trust it -- yet.
But others can. Katharine Nohr, an attorney from Honolulu, used ChatGPT to schedule a recent trip to Japan for a friend.
"I used AI to create a detailed itinerary, list of top attractions to see, and common travel phrases in Japanese," she says.
Nohr says the itinerary was reliable and that she's used AI to plan other trips, including a summer trip to the Olympics.
Working with an AI is like asking your know-it-all-friend to plan your next trip. It's helpful, but you might want to check the facts.
ChatGPT - The free version is OK, but it gets better all the time. I'm excited about its new search capability.
Claude - This AI has the answers when others don't. It's a reliable backup.
Gemini - Often has the best answer. It's getting better all the time, thanks to the Google pedigree.
Hugging Face - If you keep drawing a blank with bad answers or hallucinations, try this one.
Meta - A dark horse in the AI race, but being Facebook, you should never underestimate it. Doesn't work in every country.
Please tell me about your misadventures with AI and travel. The comments are open.
