Where should we go for vacation this summer?
The question is simple, but the possibilities are endless.
“Are you feeling adventurous or just relaxing on the beach with a drink in hand?” Leila replies, narrowing down the list.
It feels good to relax on the beach.
“So, if you prefer a laid-back beach vibe, how about Santorini with its iconic sunsets or Ao Nang for beach bliss in Thailand? Pick your favourite paradise!” she suggested.
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Except she’s not really a “girlfriend”: Leila is an AI travel planner, and her website launched this year amid a growing number of artificial intelligence-driven tools for travel.
A recent survey by Matador Network, a travel publisher and developer of the AI travel assistant GuideGeek, found that just over 50% of 1,400 people said they would be open to using AI for their summer travels. A previous Matador Network survey found that 64% of 1,200 travelers surveyed already use or plan to use AI to plan their trips.
Here’s what travelers need to know when using AI to plan their trips.
How prevalent is AI today?
When most people think of AI, they think of large language models like ChatGPT that can both recognize and generate text, but this is just one type of AI.
“AI in general is everywhere,” says Yoon Kim, an assistant professor in MIT’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. “For example, when you search for something, say something on TripAdvisor or Hotels.com, there’s a good chance that there’s an AI-based system out there that’s providing you with a list of matches based on your query.”
“Many online travel agencies are now integrating various types of first-generation AI into their platforms, so people may be using it without even knowing it,” agreed Matt Soderberg, principal and U.S. airline leader at Deloitte, which cited AI as a key theme transforming travel in its “Facing the Future of Travel” report released in early April.
Kayak and Expedia offer AI travel tools. Google has been using AI in search for years, powering the familiar “People also ask” questions. Google Flights uses machine learning, a type of AI. AI also powers Immersive View in Google Maps, which gives users aerial views of 13 cities and over 500 global landmarks. Users can zoom in like in a video game, and see weather forecasts and crowd conditions for different times of day.
Earlier this year, Google introduced generative AI to multi-search queries made with Google Lens, allowing users to take a photo of something, pair it with a text question like “What kind of flower is this?” or “Who painted this and why?” and get an AI-generated answer based on data from across the web and links to additional sources.
How can AI be used to plan trips?
Trip planning with AI is generally free, but travelers may need to create a platform-specific account to access advanced features or run more than a few initial queries.
Google account holders can get generative AI results in text-only search bar searches by opting in to Search Generative Experience, part of Google’s experimental Search Labs. If you opt in to SGE, you can ask questions like “Plan a 2-day solo trip to Grand Teton National Park” and be presented with suggested itineraries as well as related photos, reviews, and links to other resources.
For the first day in Grand Teton, Google suggested a morning hike to Schwabach Landing to “see the Grand Teton reflected in the river,” a visit to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Elk Refuge in the afternoon, and dinner at a local Italian restaurant. For each destination, Google also provided photos, links to their websites, pins to point to their locations on Google Maps, suggested places to stay, space for follow-up questions, and links to related questions such as “Is two days enough for Grand Teton National Park?”
Just above the sample itineraries is a disclaimer that reads, “Generative AI is experimental,” and below that, it says, “AI-generated trip ideas may contain inaccurate or misleading information. Please verify information with reliable sources.”
In response to the same prompts, both ChatGPT and GuideGeek, which allow users to message on social media just like people can, offered suggestions for things to do and reminders to check for trail closures, but no specific recommendations for where to eat or stay, and no links to find photos or more information about the destination. AI trip planners Layla and Mindtrip, which launched publicly this week, also included links to various points of interest, hotel suggestions, and the ability to coordinate and book different parts of the itinerary through third-party partnerships. Mindtrip allows multiple people in the same travel group to collaboratively create an itinerary.
Make your travel easier: We tested ChatGPT’s itinerary in 5 US tourist destinations
Can AI be trusted?
When we asked an AI trip planner for the top 10 most popular treats at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, it suggested Mickey-shaped beignets, in addition to staples like Dole Whip and corn dog nuggets. If they were sold inside the park, like they are at Disneyland, they’d no doubt be a popular treat. But Disney World guests will have to head to Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter to get their hands on the sweet Mickey-shaped deep-fried doughnuts.
“This phenomenon is called hallucination: these generative AI systems tend to hallucinate plausible sentences that are in fact counterfactual,” explained MIT’s Kim. “I think this will be an inherent problem for systems that generate outputs probabilistically over a large space.”
“If a law graduate recommends a restaurant that closed two years ago, that restaurant loses instant credibility,” says MindTrip founder and CEO Andy Moss, which is why the company and Layla rely on human intelligence to make recommendations.
Kim noted that efforts are underway to mitigate the hallucinations, but suggested double-checking the answers the AI generates.
“You want to make sure that information is usable and actionable — clear and repeatable,” says Will Healy, a senior vice president at Booz Allen Hamilton, the largest provider of AI to the federal government, who oversees the company’s recreation business, which includes Recreaton.gov, the government’s central trip-planning site for national parks and other public lands.
What can AI be used for?
Today, most visitors to Recreation.gov use progressive search to find and book campgrounds and other places, check boxes, and browse information provided by land managers. But as part of a beta test using AI, 25 percent of randomly selected users will be given a more personalized, AI-powered option.
“What we’re beta testing right now is something that lets you say, ‘Hey, I have three kids. I’ve never camped before. I want to go somewhere fun. They love being on the water. I’d like to try hiking, and my youngest son loves to fish, but he’s not very good at it,'” Healy said.
“If you were to talk to someone who knew everything about every campsite, what would be their answer? That’s what we think artificial intelligence can do,” he added. “It’s not just data that’s in the system. It can pull together different pieces of information from reviews, blogs, all the information that’s in the public domain, and give you a contextual answer.”
If AI could understand traveler intent, it could also suggest alternative destinations or experiences if a traveler’s preferred location is booked up or unavailable, Healy said. It could also help make public lands more accessible to more people, he said.
“If you have any kind of disability – vision, hearing, mobility or cognitive impairment – your confidence level may be reduced,” Healy said. “We want to give you the right information to help you get outside as confidently as possible and have an experience that suits your needs.”
