Travel agents are on the rise again—and so are AI tools used for planning trips.
As AI models become more advanced and reliable, dozens of high-profile travel groups are adopting them to simplify the minutiae of planning trips.
On a smaller scale, travel agencies might use ChatGPT or similar tools to help them research a topic.
On the other hand, established travel brands are launching multi-million-dollar AI tools to simplify things for users. Booking and RyanAir are tinkering with their models.
Meanwhile, TripAdvisor already has a slightly more advanced formula in place. Then there are AI-driven travel tools like Ask Layla. Spoiler alert: she’s a robot.
While these tools still need a bit of time to gain ‘experience’ (via neural networks and machine-learning programs), they’re bound to become a part of the overall travel planning industry.
And you can use them to your advantage, too.
In general, I suggest using AI trip planning to kick off research when planning a trip yourself. If you’re thinking of using accessible and free AI models like ChatGPT, then follow these tips to avoid any mistakes.
Disclaimer: Always research any results from AI to verify them. And beware when researching duplicate names. For example, there are three Sierra Nevada Mountain ranges in the world—so get specific.
Tip #1: Generate tailored ideas
The more specific you are with AI programs, the more helpful their answers.
If you have a general idea about where you want to go and what you want to do on vacation, then you can generate more tailored ideas using AI. These should be personalized with your travel interests.
You can align these with some of your bucket list goals, whether finding a way to swim with the dolphins or sampling some unique fusion food. AI can help uncover really niche and unique experiences that you wouldn’t have known about otherwise.
Tip #2: Trawl reviews
AI can also do the heavy lifting for you.
One of the best ways for travelers to vet a potential lodging, tour, or other experience is to comb through the reviews. You can always offload this work to an AI program.
If you’re on the hunt for reviews that cover specific amenities, like noise levels and natural light, then plug in those keywords and ask AI to identify reviews that include them. This can help you get into the nitty-gritty of hotel, Airbnb, and other ratings.
Tip #3: Find and monitor deals
One of the best ways to save on flights is to use a price alert feature.
These notify you anytime flights and other types of transportation go below market price. But this is usually a tough game to play, as these deals will quickly go.
You can use an AI program to identify any potential deals that are live at that exact moment.
This is a much more efficient option than personally searching through various deal sites and airline websites. Once again, you need to read the fine print to verify these deals yourself—but AI can point you in the right direction.
Tip #4: Uncover hidden gems with multilingual features
One of the more unique forms of AI trip planning is doing research in other languages. (If you’re heading someplace that uses another alphabet, like Japan or India, then you might be out of luck.)
But if you’re heading to Spain, Mexico, or Argentina, for example, you can easily translate your travel-related searches into Spanish.
Search engines produce different results based on language. Part of that falls back to cultural contexts; search engines are taught to identify these based on the seacher’s language, location, and other data.
By using a different language (with the help of AI), you unlock different search results. In other words, you might uncover hidden gems that wouldn’t normally be marketed toward an English speaker.
Tip #5: Go green
As outlined above, the more specialized your trip plans are, the more AI can help point you in the right direction.
By far one of the most robust ways is through green trip planning.
While millions of travelers are interested in sustainable transportation, agencies and travel sites haven’t fully pivoted toward this. But AI can do a lot of legwork in helping you find greener forms of travel, whether booking a train ticket for a cross-country trip or looking for carbon-neutral tours.
Tip #6: Stick to a tight budget
AI can help you go green in more than one way.
If you want to save some of your hard-earned cash by focusing on travel deals, then use AI. Once again, it has the power to identify live price drops—but it can also help you budget for your trip.
That’s particularly helpful when you need to change currencies, as exchange rates are hard to keep track of.
The same is true when trying to forecast how much you might spend in a given place—AI programs can help you specify how much you should budget for based on your tastes.