AI vs a Travel Advisor: What’s the Difference?

Travel Planning, Travel Tips

It’s everywhere these days: ChatGPT, Claude, and other AI tools designed to help you live your life more efficiently. But can these AI tools actually help you plan a trip worth writing home about?

I think that AI tools could be a good starting point when you’re in the “ideas” phase of planning a vacation. But beyond that, AI’s usefulness is limited, especially when compared to the help you’d get from a professional travel advisor. If you’ve been wondering how the two approaches to getting your travel planned stack up, keep reading.

1. AI can give you ideas—but it can’t book things for you.

Your AI assistant can churn out a list of hotels, recommend tours, and even point you to convenient flights. But AI isn’t going to reach out to every travel supplier, book your individual travel components, and turn it into one complete—and seamless—itinerary.

Of course, that’s what an advisor does for you! We do the research and manage all of the booking process, saving you lots of time (and headaches).

2. You’ll need to double-check AI’s “work.”

There’s a warning that comes at the bottom of most AI chatbots, telling you to independently verify important information that comes from AI. Often, the information AI shares is inaccurate or outdated. That amazing al fresco restaurant it recommended? It closed months ago.

Advisors double check the details and stay on top of industry happenings. The information you receive from a travel advisor is information you can trust.

3. AI can’t pass on perks and special amenities.

This goes back to AI being a research tool—not a real means to make bookings. When advisors make bookings for their clients, they’re often able to pass on valuable perks and status to their clients, thanks to their industry affiliations.

For example, my affiliations with leading hotel and cruise brands let me pass on perks like complimentary room upgrades, complimentary breakfast, early check-in/late check-out, and hotel or cruise credit (all subject to availability) — real value an AI tool simply can’t access.

4. AI will give you the most popular answer, not the most personal.

AI works by crowdsourcing information that’s already been published on the internet. Yes, you can set parameters to a certain extent, and tell it to return suggestions based on your interests and travel needs.

But good advisors start the planning by digging deep with you, and then they rely on their personal networks and personal travel experiences to personalize your entire itinerary. It’s a point of pride to pair a client with a tailored, under-the-radar experience that can’t be found in the guidebooks—or on AI! That only happens because we have a deep well of knowledge, and insider relationships, to draw from … not just regurgitating what’s already been done.

5. AI can’t “rescue” you.

One of the biggest benefits of working with a travel advisor happens long after the itinerary is booked. We’re with you throughout your entire journey—including if you encounter any bumps in the road along the way.

Travel always contains unknowns, and from cancelled flights to missing documents, it’s not uncommon for something unexpected to come up. When that happens, AI won’t pick up the phone and support you through it—but we will. I offer my traveling clients both my personal support plus contact numbers for my in-country partners, so they always have someone to reach out to for assistance. Peace of mind comes from knowing you have a real, live expert taking swift action and problem-solving on your behalf behind the scenes, so you can continue to enjoy your journey.