Building trust in agentic AI travel tools

Why consumer comfort, privacy concerns and accuracy challenges will shape the path to autonomous trip booking

Agentic AI promises a future where travel bots can monitor prices, manage criteria and eventually book trips on behalf of travelers — but consumer trust remains the defining barrier to adoption. While major platforms like Google, Expedia, Priceline and Kayak are investing heavily in autonomous AI tools, most travelers are still hesitant to hand over control, especially when credit card details and booking authority are involved. Surveys consistently show a gap between travelers’ high trust in AI-generated information and their reluctance to let AI make decisions independently. The next five years may bring rapid technological progress, but consumer readiness will determine how quickly fully autonomous booking becomes mainstream.

Key takeaways

• Consumer hesitation: Only a small share of travelers — 2 to 12 percent — are currently comfortable letting A.I. independently book or modify travel plans.
• Trust gap: Travelers trust AI for information but are far less willing to grant it decision-making authority, highlighting a divide between guidance and autonomy.
• Privacy concerns: More than half of consumers worry about how companies use their data, limiting readiness to share payment details with travel bots.
• Role of accuracy: AI hallucinations undermine confidence, making accuracy and verified data sources essential for building trust.
• Supportive, not replacing: Travelers prefer AI as an assistant that enhances human judgment rather than a tool that acts without oversight.
• Industry caution: Companies developing agentic AI are introducing features gradually, recognizing that consumer comfort — not technology — will dictate adoption speed.

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