Ai-based Travel Agent

In the latest of the genre I-followed-AI-advice-blindly-here-is-what-I-got, Ceylan Yeğinsu for the New York Times, tried AI trip planners for a Norway itinerary:

Overall, Mindtrip — with its polished, dynamic interface that allowed me to cross-check details with maps, links and reviews — was my favorite. While it gave some good recommendations, Mindtrip needed more prompting than Vacay, which offered a wider variety of suggestions in more detail. Unfortunately, Vacay doesn’t save chat history, which I discovered halfway into my planning after closing the website’s tab on my browser.

The biggest drawback was the absence of phone apps for Mindtrip and Vacay, which led me to rely on ChatGPT’s basic A.I. assistant when I needed on-the-spot guidance. Mindtrip, I’ve since learned, is planning to debut an app in September.

This seems like the natural next step from searching Tripadvisor for top reviewed things to do in a given place. So the experience seems as expected.

But I can’t wait until AI just takes the entire trip for you and then we won’t ever have to go anywhere. When is that going to happen? Amazing times ahead.

Tags: New York Times, travel