We Tried the Travel Plugins on ChatGPT Plus: What Worked, What Didn’t – Skift Travel News
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Justin Dawes, Skift
August 17th, 2023 at 4:23 PM EDT
While the ChatGPT Plus platform is not reliable even when plugged into real-time data from travel websites, the setup bring users another step toward the future of travel planning and booking.
Justin Dawes
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With some of the latest travel plugins available through ChatGPT Plus, paid users can plan nearly every aspect of a trip in one place.
ChatGPT Plus wasn’t created to be a travel platform, but with some much-needed fixes and additional features, it could turn out to be the most useful tool.
For $20 per month, ChatGPT Plus users have access to beta versions of a growing number of third-party plugins. In travel, it includes companies like Expedia, Kayak, Skyscanner, Omio, and GetYourGuide.
When using ChatGPT, the plugins allow the chatbot to pull specific real-time information from the respective companies and include it in responses. Without the plugins, ChatGPT can only answer general questions based on data from 2021.
That means users planning for a trip can explore the supply from several select competing companies all in one place. In theory, that could help them find the most competitive options and create a fuller trip more easily.
OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, said in May that it would be releasing plugins for more than 70 third-party websites. This strengthens ChatGPT’s development as a platform, similar to the relationship between iPhone and the Apple Store. And it’s another step toward how generative AI could revolutionize the way users plan and book travel.
For travel, there are now plugins that can provide specific booking information about flights, lodging, ticketed events, car rentals, ground transportation, and more.
Here are some of the bigger companies that have released plugins on ChatGPT Plus in recent months:
And here are some lesser known travel companies with ChatGPT Plus plugins:
Once plugins are downloaded from the store, only three can be enabled at a time. For example: enable Turo for car rentals, Expedia for activities, and OpenTable for restaurants that take reservations. Or enable Expedia for flights and hotels, and GetYourGuide for tours.
The user can then ask questions about specific availability for flights, hotels, or more, and the chatbot will pull information from the plugins when it can. It can sometimes create a single itinerary referencing information from more than one source.
It also provides booking links to those suggestions.
The chatbot does not always give a complete picture of what is available and seems to ignore specific requests if there’s nothing that accommodates them. However, the details it does provide about specific booking options, like flight times and prices, seem to be accurate.
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Justin Dawes, Skift
August 17th, 2023 at 4:23 PM EDT
Tags: artificial intelligence, chatgpt, generative ai, omio, OpenAi, Skift Pro Columns, travel booking, travel planning, Travel Tech Briefing, trip planning
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