39% Say Yes to ChatGPT: What Our Survey Reveals About the Next Generation of Trip Planners
In a time when AI is redefining productivity across industries, it’s now changing how people plan and dream about travel, especially among younger, tech-native travelers. A recent survey conducted by our newsletter reveals a subtle but critical turning point: AI isn’t replacing traditional travel tools yet, but it’s already winning the first interaction with the traveler.
Gen-Z and Millennial Travelers Are Driving the Shift
The survey captured insights from a digitally native, travel-active audience, making it a valuable barometer of emerging behavior. A full 50% of respondents were aged 18–24, with another 34% falling in the 25–30 range, reflecting a core Gen-Z and young millennial demographic.
Notably, 71% of participants travel for leisure at least once or twice a year, signaling a highly engaged cohort. As this generation increasingly drives demand across the travel ecosystem, their shifting planning habits offer a window into the future of B2B travel tools and consumer expectations.
From Chatbots to Blogs: What Tools Travelers Actually Use
When asked what sources they used on their most recent trip:
28% turned to social media or blogs
28% relied on friends and family
21% used OTAs
15% used ChatGPT
Only 7% consulted a travel agent
While ChatGPT doesn’t top the list, it’s already ahead of traditional agents, a telling sign for industry stakeholders. And when asked if they would use ChatGPT knowing it could plan their trip in under a minute, 39% said yes, with another 37% saying they might as well. This signals potential upside as AI improves accuracy, personalization, and trust. In line with this, Booking.com CEO Glenn Fogel has said that “generative AI will be the new front door to travel,” highlighting its growing role in early-stage planning, even before OTAs or traditional providers come into play.
AI’s Value Proposition: Fast, Personalized, but Not Yet Trusted
When it comes to planning trips, respondents prioritized trust and credibility above all else, with 27% citing reviews and trust as their top concern. This was followed by cost-efficiency (24%), personalization (19%), and both speed and flexibility (15% each). These preferences align closely with the promise of AI tools like ChatGPT, which excel at speed and basic personalization. However, the data also highlights a key gap: while AI can streamline planning, it still struggles to deliver the level of trust and real-world validation that travelers find in traditional tools like peer reviews, blogs, and human advisors. Industry leaders like Skyscanner CTO George Goodyer have cautioned that while AI speeds up research, it lacks the emotional intelligence and contextual nuance that human advisors provide, something many travelers still value deeply.
Where AI Falls Short: Real-World Credibility Still Matters
When it comes to tailored recommendations and meaningful trip ideas, most travelers still see traditional tools as more reliable, and prefer a mix of both AI and human-sourced input. Rather than replacing one with the other, they’re blending tools to get the best of both worlds. As one respondent put it: “ChatGPT might be faster, but it lacks the real-world knowledge you get from travel agents or blogs.”
Travelers Don’t Choose - They Combine
Travelers aren’t abandoning traditional tools, they’re integrating AI into a broader planning stack. When asked which source offered better ideas or hidden gems, 37% of respondents said they used both ChatGPT and traditional tools, while just 16% favored AI alone. On personalization, 21% felt neither option truly nailed it, highlighting a gap no single platform has fully solved. As one respondent put it, “ChatGPT would be faster, but it lacks the real-world knowledge you get from travel agents or travel blogs.” For travel providers and platforms, this signals the need to design for hybrid planning journeys, not full tool displacement.
The Road Ahead
AI is no longer a disruptor at the edge of travel planning, it’s becoming embedded in how the next generation explores and evaluates options. For Gen-Z and millennial travelers, the journey is no longer linear. It’s a fragmented, blended process spanning AI tools, social platforms, OTAs, and human input. As AI increasingly shapes the top of the funnel, travel brands must reposition themselves, not as endpoints, but as integrators of insight, trust, and conversion.