Your AI Travel Agent Might Be Making Things Up

Planning a vacation often means drowning in open browser tabs. In 2026, more travelers are handing the job to artificial intelligence. A recent Klook survey of 11,000 people found that 91% now use AI for trip planning, from sparking inspiration to hunting for deals.

Yet confidence in these digital assistants is shaky. Booking.com research indicates only 35% of travelers fully trust AI's suggestions. The core issue is accuracy. AI tools, built on large language models, are prone to 'hallucinations'—inventing details that sound convincing but are false.

Experiences vary widely. Shyn Yee Ho, a director at Horwath HTL, used ChatGPT extensively to plan a six-month sabbatical and found its hotel and destination recommendations 'very clear and good.' But Leigh Rowan of Savanti Travel recounts a client in Paris who missed a meeting after ChatGPT proposed a route ignoring construction, turning a 10-minute trip into 45 minutes. 'They seem like edge cases, but they're actually very common,' Rowan notes.

Experts warn AI could also narrow the travel map. Systems trained on popular 'top 10' lists may overlook smaller, independent properties or emerging destinations. 'It is a shame,' says Ho, 'because arguably... they need the demand more than ever.' Conversely, famous spots risk worsening overcrowding.

AI also misses human nuance—seasonal weather impacts, travel fatigue, or complex needs like allergies and mobility issues. And it can't help in a crisis, like rerouting travelers during a sudden airspace closure.

The path forward, according to Guy Llewellyn of EHL Hospitality Business School Singapore, involves the industry structuring its data for AI to use reliably in the background. This could reduce errors. As more companies integrate these tools, the technology is expected to improve, becoming a standard, if imperfect, part of how we explore the world.