AI Travel Planning Reality Check 2025: What Actually Works

The AI Travel Planning Promise vs. Reality

AI travel planning tools promise to replace hours of research with instant itineraries. Ask ChatGPT for a 10-day Italy plan, and you'll get a detailed day-by-day breakdown in 30 seconds. Specialized apps like Layla AI learn your preferences and suggest personalized trips. Booking platforms integrate AI assistants that find flights and hotels through natural language queries.

The hype is substantial: 72% of travelers used AI for some aspect of trip planning in 2024 (Expedia Group survey). Investment in travel AI reached $2.3 billion in 2024, triple the 2022 figure. Major platforms—Expedia, Kayak, Booking.com—launched AI features betting that travelers will abandon traditional search for conversational planning.

But here's the reality test I ran: I asked ChatGPT, Bard, Layla AI, and Roam Around to plan the same 7-day Barcelona trip with a $1,500 budget. Then I fact-checked every recommendation—prices, operating hours, transportation logistics. The results were sobering. ChatGPT suggested a "€50/night hotel in Gothic Quarter"—actual price: €180. Bard recommended a restaurant permanently closed since 2022. Layla AI nailed the neighborhood recommendations but completely ignored that three suggested attractions are closed on Mondays (my arrival day).

What AI Actually Gets Right (And Wrong)

AI tools aren't useless—they're just inconsistent. Understanding their strengths and weaknesses lets you extract value while avoiding expensive mistakes.

What AI does well:

• Itinerary structure: AI excels at creating day-by-day frameworks, grouping nearby attractions, and suggesting logical activity sequences. A task that previously took 2-3 hours of Google Maps plotting now takes 2 minutes.
• Brainstorming alternatives: Ask for "hidden gem neighborhoods in Barcelona" and AI surfaces options you wouldn't find on standard listicles (Gràcia, Poblenou). The suggestions may need vetting, but they expand your search space.
• Comparative analysis: "Compare costs of Paris vs. Prague for 5 days" generates useful side-by-side breakdowns. Prices will be rough estimates, but directional accuracy is decent for budgeting.
• Preference filtering: Specialized tools like Layla AI and Tripnotes learn from your inputs—"I hate crowds, prefer local neighborhoods, budget-conscious"—and tailor suggestions accordingly. Better than generic Google results.

What AI consistently fails at:

• Real-time pricing: Without direct booking integration, AI hallucinates prices. ChatGPT's flight estimates were off by 30-50% in testing. Hotel prices missed by similar margins. Only tools with live APIs (Kayak AI, Expedia plugin) provide accurate pricing.
• Operational details: Opening hours, closure days, seasonal variations, and special circumstances (strikes, festivals, weather disruptions) are regularly wrong or outdated. AI suggested visiting Sagrada Família on a Monday in my test—it's closed for maintenance the first Monday of each month.
• Local logistics: AI underestimates travel time between locations, ignores rush hour, and misses geographic barriers. It suggested visiting Montjuïc, Park Güell, and La Boqueria in one morning—physically impossible without teleportation.
• Cultural nuance: AI misses siesta culture (many Barcelona shops close 2-5 PM), local etiquette (don't expect dinner before 9 PM), and regional holidays (August means many restaurants close for vacation).

AI Travel Tool Landscape: What Actually Works

The AI travel tool market exploded in 2023-2024, with dozens of startups and established players launching products. Most fall into three categories: general AI assistants (ChatGPT, Bard), specialized travel AI apps (Layla, Tripnotes, Roam Around), and booking platform AI (Kayak, Expedia, Hopper). Each has distinct strengths.

General AI Assistants: ChatGPT, Bard, Copilot

ChatGPT (GPT-4): The most flexible tool for complex, multi-part queries. "Plan a 2-week Europe trip hitting Prague, Vienna, and Budapest, focusing on Art Nouveau architecture, staying under $3,000 total, avoiding tourist traps" produces remarkably detailed responses. The problem: GPT-4's knowledge cutoff (September 2021 for base model, April 2023 for latest) means outdated info. Prices, route changes, and new attractions don't exist in its training data.

User tests showed ChatGPT's travel recommendations scored 6/10 accuracy. It nails high-level structure and creative suggestions but fails on specifics. The $20/month ChatGPT Plus subscription adds web browsing (improving accuracy to ~7/10) and plugins like Expedia integration, but responses slow down considerably when using these features.

Google Bard/Gemini: Free, with real-time web access giving it an edge on current information. Bard can pull live flight prices (via Google Flights integration), check hotel availability, and reference recent reviews. Accuracy improved to 7/10 in testing. Weaknesses: inconsistent output quality (responses vary significantly between identical queries), sometimes excessively verbose, and lacks the conversational depth of ChatGPT for complex planning.

Microsoft Copilot (Bing AI): Similar to Bard—free, real-time web access, integrates booking links directly in responses. Accuracy: 7/10. Provides source citations (helpful for verification), but limited depth on complex multi-leg trips. Best for quick searches: "Find me 3-star hotels in Rome under €100/night near Termini station" returns accurate, bookable results. Less useful for nuanced itinerary planning.

Specialized Travel AI: Layla, Tripnotes, Roam Around

Specialized travel AI apps emerged in 2023-2024 to address general AI limitations. These tools train specifically on travel data, integrate booking APIs, and offer features like budget tracking and collaborative planning.

Layla AI: The most mature specialized tool. Creates personalized itineraries by learning preferences through chat: "I prefer boutique hotels, hate waking up early, love street food, traveling with my partner." Layla generates day-by-day plans matching these filters. Accuracy: 8/10—significantly better than ChatGPT on logistics and local details. Integrates hotel and flight booking directly in-app (via partnerships with major OTAs).

Weaknesses: destination coverage is uneven. Major cities (Paris, Tokyo, NYC) get excellent recommendations. Smaller destinations (Albanian Riviera, rural Colombia) produce generic, clearly AI-hallucinated outputs. The $9.99/month Pro subscription adds features like unlimited itinerary saves and priority support, but free tier is functional for most users.

Tripnotes AI: Excels at complex, multi-destination trips. Input "3 weeks: Iceland → Norway → Sweden → Denmark" and Tripnotes suggests routing, transportation connections, and per-destination itineraries. Budget tracking feature lets you allocate spending across categories (lodging, food, activities) and tracks against actual costs. Collaborative planning allows sharing itineraries with travel partners for edits.

Accuracy: 8/10 on well-traveled routes, 6/10 on unusual combinations. The mobile app lags behind the desktop experience—slow load times, occasional sync issues. The $4.99/month Premium tier adds unlimited trips (free tier caps at 3 active itineraries) and offline access.

Roam Around: The simplest tool—optimized for speed over customization. Enter a city and trip length (1-7 days), and Roam Around generates a clean, shareable itinerary in 10 seconds. Accuracy: 7/10—decent for mainstream destinations, generic for anywhere off the beaten path. Completely free with no account required.

Best for quick ideation ("What does a 3-day Prague itinerary look like?") rather than detailed planning. Limited customization options—you can't specify preferences like "avoid museums" or "focus on food." Outputs feel templated but serve as useful starting points.

GuideGeek (by Matador Network): Integrates Matador's editorial content with AI planning. Ask about a destination, and GuideGeek pulls from Matador's library of local guides, budget tips, and off-beaten-path recommendations. Accuracy: 8/10 for destinations with strong Matador coverage, drops to 5/10 for places Matador hasn't extensively covered.

Completely free. Best for travelers who value local insights over comprehensive logistics. GuideGeek won't book flights or hotels, but it surfaces neighborhood character, budget eating spots, and cultural context better than generic AI.

Booking Platform AI: Where Accuracy Meets Functionality

The most accurate AI tools are those with direct access to booking data. Kayak, Expedia, and Hopper integrated AI features that search live inventories and provide real-time pricing.

Kayak AI Assistant: Natural language search for flights, hotels, and car rentals. "Find me round-trip flights from NYC to London in June under $600" returns accurate, bookable results pulled from Kayak's real-time search. Accuracy: 9/10—prices and availability match what you see when clicking through to book.

Limitations: less creative on non-booking queries. Ask for itinerary suggestions, and Kayak AI provides generic responses. It's a booking tool with conversational interface, not a planning companion. Completely free to use.

Expedia ChatGPT Plugin: Integrates Expedia's inventory directly into ChatGPT (requires ChatGPT Plus subscription). You can plan a trip conversationally, then ask the plugin to search for specific flights or hotels. When it works, it's seamless—creative ChatGPT planning combined with real booking capability.

Accuracy: 8/10 when the plugin functions correctly. The problem: plugin reliability is inconsistent. Connections drop mid-conversation, search results sometimes fail to load, and the flow between planning and booking feels clunky. Expedia is actively improving stability, but as of early 2025, it remains hit-or-miss.

Hopper AI: Focused on predictive pricing rather than comprehensive planning. Hopper analyzes billions of flight and hotel price points to forecast when prices will rise or fall. The AI recommends optimal booking windows: "Buy now—prices likely to increase 12% in next 3 days" or "Wait—prices predicted to drop 8% by next week."

Accuracy: 8/10 on price predictions (Hopper claims 95% accuracy, independent analysis suggests 80-85%). The app is free, but Hopper charges booking fees (typically $5-$15 per reservation) and upsells travel insurance and "price freeze" features. For price-sensitive travelers, Hopper's predictions justify the fees, but it's not a full-service planning tool.

The Optimal AI Travel Planning Workflow

No single AI tool handles all planning tasks well. The most effective approach combines tools strategically:

Step 1: Brainstorming (ChatGPT or Bard). Use general AI for initial ideation and structure. "I have 12 days, $3,000 budget, interested in history and hiking, want to avoid Western Europe crowds—suggest 3 itineraries." ChatGPT generates diverse options you might not have considered. Expect 70% useful suggestions, 30% that need refinement.

Step 2: Itinerary refinement (Layla AI or Tripnotes). Take your chosen destination and use specialized tools to build detailed day-by-day plans. Input preferences (morning person vs. night owl, food priorities, accommodation style). Layla and Tripnotes structure logistics better than general AI and catch some timing/routing errors.

Step 3: Fact-checking (manual or Bard/Copilot). Verify AI suggestions using real-time web search. Check that restaurants are open, attractions operate on suggested days, and transportation routes exist as described. Bard's web access helps, but manual Google searches are often faster and more reliable for specific details.

Step 4: Pricing and booking (Kayak AI, Expedia, Hopper). Use booking platform AI to search for actual flights, hotels, and rentals. Compare AI-suggested budgets against real prices. Book directly through these platforms or use them for price benchmarks before booking elsewhere.

Step 5: Local details (GuideGeek, Reddit, human sources). For neighborhood character, hidden gems, and recent changes, supplement AI with human-created content. GuideGeek surfaces Matador's editorial depth. Reddit's travel communities (r/travel, destination-specific subs) provide current, ground-truth perspectives AI lacks.

Where AI Fails Completely (And You Need Human Expertise)

Some travel planning tasks remain firmly in human territory. AI produces terrible outputs for:

1. Niche or remote destinations. AI training data heavily favors popular destinations. Ask about backpacking through Kyrgyzstan or island-hopping in Indonesia's Maluku Islands, and you'll get generic, often dangerously inaccurate advice. AI suggested hitchhiking in regions where it's illegal and unsafe, recommended guesthouses that closed years ago, and hallucinated visa requirements.

2. Safety and risk assessment. AI downplays or misses safety issues. ChatGPT recommended neighborhoods in Medellín that locals consider dangerous. Bard suggested solo female travel itineraries in regions with documented harassment problems without warnings. Treat AI safety assessments with extreme skepticism—consult government travel advisories, recent traveler forums, and local contacts.

3. Visa and legal requirements. AI regularly hallucinates visa policies, work permit regulations, and customs rules. I tested this with digital nomad visa questions—ChatGPT incorrectly stated Portugal's D7 visa allows remote work for non-EU companies (it doesn't), Bard confused Thailand's DTV with the old STV visa (completely different rules), and Layla AI suggested overstaying tourist visas and "figuring it out locally" (illegal).

4. Real-time disruptions. Strikes, weather events, political unrest, sudden closures—AI has no awareness of current disruptions unless explicitly told. Planning travel to France during pension reform strikes? AI won't warn you that trains and museums may be closed. Booking monsoon-season travel? AI might not flag that your beach destinations will be underwater.

5. Deep local knowledge. AI surfaces tourist-friendly recommendations but misses the local texture that makes travel memorable. It won't tell you that the best ramen shop in Tokyo has no sign and closes when the daily soup runs out. It can't recommend the neighborhood festival happening during your visit or the family-run guesthouse with no online presence but incredible hospitality.

The Future: Where AI Travel Planning Is Headed

AI travel tools will improve rapidly through 2025-2027, addressing current limitations:

Real-time data integration. More AI tools will connect to live APIs for pricing, availability, reviews, and operational status. The gap between booking platform AI (high accuracy) and general AI (creative but inaccurate) will narrow as ChatGPT, Bard, and specialized tools integrate real-time data sources.

Multimodal inputs. AI will process images, videos, and voice alongside text. Show an AI photo of a destination: "Find me places that look like this." Record a voice memo while walking: "I loved this neighborhood—find similar areas in my next destination." This makes preference communication more intuitive than text descriptions.

Continuous learning from user behavior. Tools like Layla AI already learn preferences, but future systems will track actual trip outcomes. "You said you wanted quiet neighborhoods but booked activities in busy areas—adjusting future recommendations." Over time, AI becomes personalized based on revealed preferences, not just stated ones.

Booking and management integration. Current AI stops at recommendations—you still manually book flights, hotels, and activities. Next-generation tools will handle end-to-end booking, itinerary changes, and real-time trip management. "My flight was delayed 3 hours—rebook my hotel check-in and push dinner reservation to 9 PM" executed automatically.

Local expert networks. AI will connect to networks of local guides, hosts, and experts for ground-truth verification. Instead of hallucinating restaurant recommendations, AI queries local food bloggers or chefs for current picks. This hybrid approach combines AI's structural capabilities with human local knowledge.

FAQ

Bottom Line

AI travel planning tools are genuinely useful but require careful deployment. They excel at brainstorming, itinerary structure, and comparative research—tasks that previously consumed hours now take minutes. Specialized tools like Layla AI and Tripnotes offer 8/10 accuracy on logistics, significantly better than general AI's 6/10. Booking platform AI (Kayak, Expedia, Hopper) provides 9/10 accuracy on pricing and availability by pulling live data.

But AI fails consistently on real-time details (prices, operating hours, current conditions), cultural nuance, safety assessment, and visa/legal requirements. The optimal workflow combines tools strategically: ChatGPT for brainstorming, specialized AI for itinerary structure, booking platform AI for pricing, and manual verification for critical details. This multi-tool approach saves 40-60% of planning time versus traditional methods while maintaining accuracy.

For niche destinations, safety-sensitive travel, or complex visa situations, AI produces dangerous errors—bypass it entirely and consult official sources and experienced travelers. As AI improves with real-time integration and local expert networks (2025-2027), accuracy will rise, but human verification will remain essential for the foreseeable future.

72% of travelers already use AI for planning. The question isn't whether to use AI—it's how to use it intelligently. Treat AI as a research accelerator, not an oracle. Verify everything that matters. Combine multiple tools. And recognize that the best travel experiences still come from human insight AI can't replicate.