New Study Finds Travelers Are Open to Booking With AI -- but Only With Clear Guardrails

The most comprehensive, recent study of consumer attitudes toward agentic AI booking reveals strong interest, but trust and control remain paramount.

NEW YORK, April 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- As generative AI becomes a bigger part of how people search for and plan trips, new research from travel marketing agency Dune7 and boutique market research firm Flesh & Bone suggests the next frontier is already emerging: letting AI actually book travel on a consumer's behalf.

In an online study of 1,000 U.S. adults aged 18+ who traveled by plane in the past 12 months, 71% said they are interested in using an AI travel assistant that can search, compare, select, and book travel based on their preferences.

While much of the industry conversation to date has focused on how consumers use generative AI for inspiration and itineraries, far less research has examined how travelers feel about letting AI complete the actual booking.

The findings suggest meaningful consumer openness — but not without conditions.

Travelers were most interested in using agentic AI for practical tasks such as booking hotels (66%), flights (65%), and personalized travel packages (61%). The strongest perceived benefits centered on finding deals, saving time, and handling disruptions in real time.

At the same time, the biggest barriers were all trust-related. Travelers' top concerns included AI errors being hard to reverse, not knowing who is responsible if something goes wrong, lack of human support, and personal data privacy.

Interest was especially high among Millennials, business travelers, international travelers, and current AI users, suggesting that consumers dealing with more complex travel needs may be the earliest adopters.

Tom Buckley, cofounder at Dune7, says, "The market is not saying 'don't let AI book for me.' It is saying, 'let AI do the work — but inside rules I set, with approval rights, transparency, and a human fallback when it matters.' The brands that win will be the ones that combine automation with transparency, control, and trust."

For travel brands and technology platforms, the message is clear: consumers are not rejecting agentic AI. They are asking for a version of it that gives them confidence, visibility, and recourse when something goes wrong.

Methodology: Online study among n=1,000 Americans age 18+ who traveled by plane either domestically or internationally in the past 12 months. Fieldwork was conducted March 6–9, 2026.

Media contact:
Tom Buckley
212 380 8291
[email protected] 

SOURCE Dune7