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Can you trust AI to give you good travel advice?

  //travel-leisure.news-articles.net/content/2025/ .. you-trust-ai-to-give-you-good-travel-advice.html
  Published in Travel and Leisure on Tuesday, September 30th 2025 at 19:10 GMT by Seattle Times
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Can You Trust AI to Give You Good Travel Advice?
A Seattle Times investigation into the promise and pitfalls of generative‑AI travel planners

When a traveler in Seattle asked a chat‑bot to plan a “perfect” 10‑day trip to Italy, the answer arrived in seconds: a meticulously spaced out itinerary that included a museum visit on the day it was closed, a “must‑see” vineyard that had shut its doors a month earlier, and a dinner reservation at a restaurant that no longer existed. The result was a stark reminder that, while artificial intelligence can be an impressive productivity engine, it is still a source of misinformation—especially when it comes to the complex, constantly changing world of travel.

The Seattle Times set out to answer the question that has been buzzing around travel blogs, tech forums, and airline lounges for the last two years: can we trust AI to give us good travel advice? The piece, published in the Life & Travel section, weaves together firsthand experiments, expert commentary, and a critical look at the data that fuels today’s generative models.

1. The New Frontier: AI as a Personal Travel Agent

Travel‑AI tools such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT (now GPT‑4 Turbo), Google’s Bard, and even niche products like TripIt’s “AI‑powered itineraries” promise to replace the countless hours spent combing through forums, booking sites, and travel guides. According to the article, the promise is alluring:

“The idea that a chatbot can instantly pull together a day‑by‑day itinerary, suggest the best local restaurants, and even flag travel advisories is seductive for anyone who has ever been stuck scrolling through a thousand tabs,” says travel blogger and Seattle Times contributor Maya Patel.

The article also notes that Google’s new “Travel AI” feature, which sits under the Google Maps umbrella, can automatically generate suggested routes and lodging recommendations based on user preferences. The Times links to Google’s own announcement page for this tool, providing readers with direct access to the interface and its privacy policy.

2. The Sweet Spot: Where AI Excels

In a series of side‑by‑side tests, the Times’ authors compared AI responses to those from human travel agencies and traditional search engines. The results were encouraging for certain use cases:

Patel writes, “For tasks that rely on general knowledge—packing lists, basic language phrases, and standard travel etiquette—AI can outperform a typical human itinerary planner by a wide margin.”

3. The Downside: Misinformation and “Hallucination”

The Times article gives voice to the most unsettling phenomenon: AI hallucinations—false statements that are plausible but simply wrong. Several examples illustrate the problem:

• Outdated attractions – The chatbot suggested visiting the “Milan Cathedral Museum,” a place that closed in 2021.
• Non‑existent restaurants – A “farm‑to‑table” spot called “La Piazza” was recommended, but the Yelp page shows it shut down in 2018.
• Incorrect opening hours – A national park’s recommended entrance fee was listed as $50 instead of the current $35.
• Missing events – The AI failed to mention a local street festival that is a major tourist draw.

A data scientist from the University of Washington, who was quoted in the article, cautions that “generative models are only as trustworthy as the data they were trained on, and a large proportion of their knowledge comes from public web pages, many of which are stale or vandalized.”

The Times also links to a research article from the Journal of Travel Research that quantifies hallucination rates in travel‑specific queries, providing readers with an evidence‑based backdrop for the claims made.

4. Expert Take‑aways: How to Mitigate AI’s Flaws

The article surveys advice from several practitioners:

• Travel Industry Insider – “AI is a great first filter. Use it to generate a rough draft, but then double‑check every detail on official tourism sites or trusted review platforms.”
• AI Ethicist Dr. Priya Gupta – “We need to develop better fine‑tuning protocols where the model is trained on curated, up‑to‑date datasets from official sources—think tourism boards, Michelin Guides, and local government APIs.”
• OpenAI Representative – “We are actively working on a “Verified Knowledge” layer that will surface the model’s confidence scores and source citations, making it easier for users to spot dubious suggestions.”

The article also highlights tools that already exist to improve trustworthiness. For example, TripAdvisor’s new AI-powered “TripAdvisor Concierge” pulls from the platform’s own database of reviews and current availability, reducing the likelihood of hallucinations. The Seattle Times links to TripAdvisor’s dedicated AI page, giving readers a live demo of the feature.

5. The Human Element: Why a Human Touch Still Matters

Beyond the factual inaccuracies, the Times stresses that AI struggles with nuanced, context‑rich travel planning. A chatbot can suggest a scenic route that looks great on a map, but it cannot factor in a traveler’s dietary restrictions, local etiquette, or the subtle cultural cues that a seasoned guide would. An anecdote from the article recounts a traveler who relied on AI to book a dinner in Tokyo. The restaurant was fine, but the AI failed to advise the traveler on the local custom of removing shoes at the entrance—a small oversight that almost ruined the experience.

“The human element is essential for empathy, intuition, and cultural nuance,” Patel concludes. “AI can be a powerful tool in a traveler's kit, but it cannot replace the seasoned judgment of a human guide or the personal touch of a local concierge.”

6. Bottom Line

The Seattle Times article offers a balanced view: AI can be a valuable starting point for travel planning, especially for logistics, language, and basic itinerary generation. However, it is not yet a reliable stand‑alone source for up‑to‑date, detailed travel advice. The recommendation is clear—use AI to draft a plan, then verify each detail with authoritative, real‑time sources. For travelers on a tight schedule or in a hurry, that “two‑step” approach can shave hours off planning time without sacrificing safety or quality.

For those curious to explore the tools mentioned, the article provides handy links:

• Google’s Travel AI: https://www.google.com/travel
• TripAdvisor’s AI concierge: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ai
• OpenAI’s policy on hallucinations: https://openai.com/research/hallucination
• The Journal of Travel Research study: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtr.2024.07.012

In a world where a few keystrokes can now generate a full week of travel plans, the Times reminds us that trust is earned by cross‑checking and human judgment, not just by the allure of a quick, polished answer.