The "invasion" of artificial intelligence in travel - 1 in 3 Americans blindly follow its suggestions

• Travelers' trust in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for planning and booking trips is at an all-time high, with new data showing that this trend is now going mainstream.

According to a recent study by Phocuswright, 33% of travelers in the United States use artificial intelligence tools - such as ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google Gemini - to either plan or enrich their travel experience. The study's authors describe this change as a "seismic shift in traveler behavior".

Even more impressive is the finding that up to 37% of travelers now trust the suggestions of genetic artificial intelligence (GenAI) to the extent that they act on them. Meanwhile, more than half of Americans say they have tried or are actively using GenAI – not just for travel, but for a variety of things.

The survey was conducted among travelers from the US, UK, France and Germany between March 31 and April 25, 2025.

Usage by Country – Europe lags behind the US

GenAI adoption in Europe remains lower, partly due to stricter regulations in the EU. The US leads by a wide margin, with 33% of travelers integrating AI into the travel process, while the UK has 22%, France 19% and Germany 15%.

Across all European countries surveyed, AI use for travel planning increased by 3-4 percentage points over the year (2024-2025).

AI also takes over the bookings

An important finding of the research is the intention of travelers to use artificial intelligence not only for planning, but also for booking trips. Between 25% and 33% of travelers across all countries say they are willing to book trips directly through a GenAI platform or let an AI assistant complete the process on their behalf.

Phocuswright estimates that this trend will be further strengthened by the integration of shopping and payment capabilities into GenAI environments, but also with the wider spread of digital identities, which will simplify the processes.

Trip planning – France takes the lead

The data on the use of AI in the full planning of a trip is interesting, where the US does not hold the lead.

France: 30% of travelers have used GenAI at least once to plan a trip.
US and UK: 19%
Germany: 16%
In repeat use, 19% of Americans say they have planned at least two trips with AI, compared to 14% in the UK, 13% in Germany and 11% in France.

The future: AI everywhere in tourism

Phocuswright predicts that the next two years will bring even greater changes in travel habits.

The maturation of AI-based travel services, the integration of AI-powered commerce functions by giants such as Google (in Search and Google Maps), and user familiarity with these tools are expected to consolidate their use.

“With these developments, travelers will eagerly follow,” the report states.