"Plan me three days in Lisbon on a small budget." Ten seconds later, you have a perfect itinerary: the neighbourhoods to visit, one museum a day, and a little fish restaurant recommended for the first evening.
Once you are there, you discover that the restaurant closed two years ago.
AI assistants have become excellent travel companions. These days they can even book on your behalf. Provided you know their pitfalls.
What they do very well
Inspiration. Describe what you like, walking, food, museums, quiet, and ask for ideas for destinations or neighbourhoods. This is often where AI is most useful.
The skeleton of an itinerary. Organising days in a logical way, grouping together what is nearby, allowing for breaks: an assistant does this very well.
The small things. A packing list suited to the weather, a few useful phrases in the local language, the customs to know about once you are there.
The pitfalls to know about
Out-of-date information. An assistant learned from past texts. Opening hours, prices, addresses, places that have closed: anything that changes over time can be wrong. Even when it searches the internet, it can land on an old page.
Invented places. An AI will sometimes recommend a restaurant, a trail or a beach that does not exist, with a very convincing description.
Formalities. Visas, passports, vaccinations, entry rules: never rely on an AI for these matters. In France, the "Conseils aux voyageurs" section of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website is the reference.
When the AI books on your behalf
This is the big new development. Assistants now connect to dozens of services: Gemini, for example, can now book a table or do your shopping through more than 40 apps. Handy, but a mistake with a date, a name or the number of people can quickly prove costly.
The rule is simple: read everything again before confirming, and never let an assistant pay without your confirmation. Before giving it access to your accounts, read our guide to granting access without giving everything away.
People often think an online purchase can always be cancelled within 14 days. That is false for travel. European law excludes hotels, transport tickets, car hire and bookings for restaurants or leisure activities on a specific date from this cooling-off period. In other words, if an assistant books the wrong date in a non-refundable hotel, you cannot simply change your mind. Only the cancellation terms specific to each offer apply: check them before confirming.
Five habits
1. Use AI to imagine, not to verify.
2. Confirm every address, opening time and price on the venue's official website. Our method for verifying a source given by an AI applies perfectly.
3. For formalities, use official sources only.
4. Read every booking again before paying, and check the confirmation email.
5. Always look at the cancellation terms.
What to take away
An AI can save you hours of preparation and give you ideas you would never have thought of. It is a formidable starting point.
But a trip is lived in the real world, the one where restaurants close and opening hours change. Let the AI dream the trip with you, and keep the final say for yourself.