Dive Brief:
- Nearly 9 in 10 travelers are willing to use AI travel agents to help them plan trips and find the best options to book, according to an Accenture survey of nearly 3,000 consumers.
- That comfort drops as consumers hand over more agency. Less than one-third of travelers would allow AI to make the final booking decision, but not payment itself.
- Only 7% of travelers would allow an AI agent to shop autonomously and complete purchases on their behalf.
Dive Insight:
AI is changing how people shop and book travel, from the discovery experience to the actual purchase. Even as their comfort with AI grows, consumers still express a desire for control over the process and are more willing to collaborate with AI than completely hand over the reins.
Accenture’s findings for travelers echoes that of the broader consumer population. The vast majority, 85%, of consumers are open to AI collaboration, according to its survey of 25,590 consumers across 16 countries. Only one-third are willing to hand over purchase decisions, and 9% are willing to allow it to purchase on their behalf.
Some travelers want to keep control over trip planning, even with AI’s help, for a simple reason: They enjoy it. Nearly half, 44%, say they want to stay involved because they feel an emotional connection to a brand and enjoy the browsing experience.
Travel brands have rushed to roll out AI agents to meet such browsing experience desires.
Earlier this month, Priceline updated Penny, its AI-powered travel assistant, with an agentic capabilities to help customers plan, evaluating real-time pricing and availability, and providing tradeoffs between options. Last week, Marriott International launched Ask Bonvoy, an AI conversational search experience focused on the discovery of Marriott hotels.
But among travelers that use third-party AI tools, like ChatGPT or Claude, brands can’t take loyalty for granted.
Accenture found that just over half of travelers, 55%, say they would instruct their AI agent on brands to consider. But among consumers who are loyal to a few travel brands in a specific category, more than one-third would let an agent switch from their favorite brands for a better fit.
“This changes how travelers choose brands,” Emily Weiss, global travel lead and senior managing director at Accenture, said in a prepared statement. “Loyalty is no longer assumed. Instead, brands are judged in the moment, on price, relevance and how well they meet the traveler’s needs.”
