The world becomes more and more reliant on artificial intelligence, and the travel industry is following the trend. As with any other sector, the underlying question remains, will robots replace humans? In this case, can AI platforms replace travel agents?
When I planned my trip to Italy last year, I decided not to use the services of a travel agent, unlike my trip to Japan a few years earlier. Italy being a more familiar destination, with no language barrier, I figured it would be fairly easy. Yet, planning that simple ‘trip next door’ proved more time consuming and complicated than organising the journey to Japan, a completely new destination.
On that same trip to Italy, I remember spotting a young couple with two children under five, one of them in a buggy, leaving what could only have been sold to them online as a “boutique hotel”, under the bored gaze of the prostitutes who lined the street just outside the place. It struck me at the time as the kind of situation that can only happen when booking online to a place one is not familiar with, seduced by low prices and photoshopped images.
1. The rise of AI in travel
According to the 2024 Trends global survey, 80% of people have used some form of AI to plan their trip in the past two years, with travellers increasingly preferring to book their trip entirely online. The figures are even higher for millennials, at 86%, and members of Gen Zers, at 83%. This trend is linked to the popularity of online travel agencies (OTAs), or platforms – such as Skyscanner, Hopper and Kayak – where travellers can book a flight, a cruise, hotel room, rent a car, or buy event tickets. Today, OTAs account for 51% of all travel bookings, compared with 37% directly with airlines and 13% via holiday rental platforms such as Airbnb.
The same trends global survey also points out that one of the main aspects sought by travellers is to reduce stress and friction. The big question is: can AI deliver? While buying a ticket online from point A to point B is relatively easy and cheap these days thanks to the proliferation of low-cost flights, planning an entire holiday to a foreign destination is a different story, especially when travelling as a family. Travelling isn’t just about buying a ticket. It involves organising accommodation, local transport, restaurant recommendations, leisure activities and niche services such as finding the best ski passes or curated adventure tours.
2. Putting AI to the test
To assess the place of AI in the sector, I asked questions and tested the three leading AI platforms themselves: ChatGPT (paid version -4o), Gemini and Co-Pilot. I began by asking five simple questions about their ability to act as travel agents, then submitted three holiday destinations with some preferences and conditions and asked each for a travel itinerary. The questions were simple and straightforward:
- Is it a good idea to use AI as a travel agent?
- Could AI replace travel agents?
- What are AI’s shortcomings?
- Which is the best platform?
- Can AI handle travel-related disasters, catastrophes and repatriation?
The answers from the three platforms were unanimous: all agreed that AI is indeed an excellent tool for travel planning, but, and this will reassure some, they all recognised that while AI could complement human agents, it cannot completely replace them… “for now”, as ChatGPT added. This idea is echoed by travel operators, with 97.8% expecting AI to have a significant impact on the sector over the next five years.
3. AI’s strengths and weaknesses
The platforms highlighted their advantages over humans in terms of speed, efficiency, the ability to create personalised itineraries and savings suggestions, as well as the ability to process large amounts of data in multiple languages. AI can generate a complete and detailed itinerary to any destination in a matter of seconds. Another invaluable advantage is AI’s 24/7 availability.
ChatGPT recommended itself first, then suggested other platforms such as Kayak, Hopper and Skyscanner. Gemini was kind to its colleague and also suggested ChatGPT, after Google Travel and Skyscanner. Co-Pilot echoed these suggestions. These responses underscore a significant limitation of AI platforms: unlike human travel agents or OTAs, AI cannot yet facilitate bookings or purchases directly. Instead, they rely on directing users to other platforms that manage the transactional aspect of travel planning.
The platforms also recognised that, despite their technical strengths, they lacked emotional intelligence compared to their human counterparts and were missing the essential tools to advise travellers: personalised advice, the ability to handle nuanced human emotions, and failing to deal with out of the ordinary situations such as disputes, accidents, disasters, etc.
It is also interesting to note a slight increase (from 34% to 38%) in the number of people who use human agents to book their holidays. This trend is also observed among members of Generation Z, 38% of whom say they prefer a traditional travel agent to booking online. Nevertheless, this leaves over 70% of travellers who prefer to organise their trip online, a figure that is set to grow exponentially.
4. Real-world testing, AI vs human travel agents
Next, I tested the three platforms with three sample trips:
- A 5-day trip to Japan for a 20-year-old interested in manga’s, food, gadgets/electronics, animals and the outdoors.
- A 1-week family holiday in Portugal (two adults and two 2 children) in Cascais – Estoril with a budget of €500/pp
- A combined Israel (7 days) and Jordan (3 days) trip for two friends in their 30s focusing on food, nightlife and history.
ChatGPT was indeed the best overall platform – is it because it is the paid version? –, offering clear and easy-to-follow itineraries matching my few demands. Gemini provided the most detailed transportation options, which even included a “Travel agent tip” section, where they suggested buying a rail pass for Japan. Co-Pilot I am afraid lagged far behind its colleagues.
Despite their capabilities, none of the platforms matched the depth of advice that I would have obtained from a human travel agent. While the information an agent provides could have been found online, either by further probing AI or by googling, it comes at the cost of spending endless hours online browsing a multitude of sites and reading hundreds of visitor reviews, never knowing whether the reviewer and I share the same tastes in accommodation, food or otherwise.
The three platforms fell short in key areas. First, they did not take into account the fact that the Portugal trip was for a family with children and all three platforms suggested trips outside school holidays, a point that no human travel agent would have missed. Second, none mentioned the ongoing conflict in Israel and the fact that as a result, many airlines have suspended their flights to Tel Aviv (making these flights up to three times more expensive). Third, their pricing often failed to reflect the seasonal changes and were obviously not able to give the special offers available to human agents. And finally, all three lacked the human touch, local experience and ability of a travel agent to understand atmosphere, tastes and cultural nuances and advise customers based on their perceived and acknowledged preferences.
5. Verdict, is AI the future of travel?
Not quite yet! AI platforms are not ready to replace human travel agents. They don’t lack the hands-on experience and emotional insight, and real-time geopolitical awareness. However, AI tools should not be dismissed, as they are invaluable for their fast and cost-effective planning, and they will certainly improve over time.
For now, I’d say your best option for enjoying a hassle-free holiday – and to avoid exposing your children to adult nightlife and red-light district at too young an age – is to combine AI and OTAs for initial research and straightforward bookings, while entrusting human travel agents with the more comprehensive and intricate aspects of travel planning.
