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Like in all other industries, artificial intelligence has emerged as an influential force in the travel sector. Technology has transformed the way travelers plan, book, and experience their trips. The process that once involved juggling dozens of browser tabs, spreadsheets, and comparison sites has now turned into a more streamlined and guided journey with AI assistants. This shift toward technology has not only enhanced convenience but raised consumer expectations and changed the role of human travel agents.
AI has now occupied a crucial space in the travel industry, acting simultaneously as a powerful assistant alongside human agents. While machines can process information at unprecedented speed, the industry is learning where automation adds value and where human judgment remains indispensable.
The Rise of the AI Concierge
The emergence of AI-driven concierge platforms is a clear reflection of this shift. Navi Savi, for example, blends artificial intelligence with short-form video content to deliver end-to-end support to customers during their trip. The platform allows travelers to move from inspiration to booking within a single ecosystem.
With features like voice activation, in-app bookings, and emotionally aware responses, AI-driven concierge platforms have enhanced user experience. Travelers increasingly expect tools that not only surface options but also adapt to preferences and context in real time.
“We see Navi Savi as an AI concierge—someone who is with you through every step of the journey,” says Sally Bunnell, Founder and CEO of Navi Savi.
Bunnell frames the next phase of travel technology around a core emotional disconnect: inspiration lives in video, while planning and booking still happen elsewhere. She described this gap as one of the most expensive inefficiencies in travel, arguing that emotion is not a byproduct of travel marketing but the primary driver of conversion. “Travel decisions are not rational,” Bunnell said. “They’re emotional first, logistical second.”
Brands are being challenged to rethink how video functions across the traveler journey. Rather than treating short-form video as top-of-funnel inspiration alone, Bunnell positioned it as structured, licensable data that can carry travelers all the way to purchase. Referencing recent industry research, Bunnell pointed to video being three times more influential in travel decision-making than static content, particularly when long-form storytelling establishes emotional context before short-form clips deliver clarity.
There is also a growing mismatch between how travelers behave and how platforms categorize them. Traditional personas, Bunnell argued, fail to account for situational shifts that occur across a single trip. “One person can be a luxury traveler on a honeymoon and a budget traveler on a work trip,” she explained. “Designing for a fixed persona ignores how humans actually move through the world.”
That insight informs NaviSavi’s underlying architecture, which tags video content based on emotional signals rather than destination keywords alone.
The product roadmap reflects that philosophy. NaviSavi’s upcoming release integrates voice-activated search, multilingual support, and in-platform booking, allowing travelers to move from discovery to transaction without leaving the ecosystem. Bunnell emphasizes, “The future of travel isn’t more tabs. It’s fewer decisions with higher confidence.”
Trust is the limiting factor in AI adoption. While automation can compress booking windows and surface options faster, she believes human presence remains essential. “Technology accelerates the process, but video gives people permission to trust it.”
AI-Driven Alerts and Smarter Booking Decisions
While some platforms emphasize immersion, others focus on precision and speed. Slicktrip addresses one of travelers’ persistent frustrations: fleeting deals that disappear before users can act. Its system delivers instant alerts while deliberately resisting premature automation.
The company prioritizes clean, accurate data before layering in AI capabilities, an effort shaped by concerns about overreliance on algorithms. In a market flooded with automated recommendations, Slicktrip emphasizes user control.
“We’re not rushing to add AI—we’re building accuracy first and using AI to assist the user, not replace them,” says Dovi Geretz, CTO of Slicktrip.
Geretz approaches AI in travel from a position of caution shaped by real-world consequences. Rather than racing to automate decision-making, Slicktrip focuses on monitoring volatile pricing data with precision, delivering alerts at moments when travelers can act. Geretz described accuracy as the product’s competitive edge, especially in an environment where AI systems are increasingly confident but not always correct.
Examples from the airline industry continue to shape that philosophy. Geretz referenced recent legal disputes caused by AI chatbots presenting inaccurate policies as fact, reinforcing his belief that premature automation risks eroding consumer trust. “AI is designed to sound convincing,” Geretz said. “That doesn’t mean it’s right.”
Slicktrip’s decision to delay full AI booking functionality reflects a broader tension across travel technology. While automation can remove friction, Geretz argued that removing visibility removes agency. The platform instead uses AI as an assistant layer, allowing users to interrogate pricing data rather than surrender control. According to Geretz, transparency becomes more valuable as automation increases.
That restraint also informs how Slicktrip views the future role of travel professionals. Geretz does not see AI eliminating expertise, but filtering it. Agents who rely solely on access to pricing data may struggle, while those who combine experience with intelligent tooling stand to gain leverage. He emphasizes, “AI doesn’t replace judgment. It amplifies it when the foundation is solid.”
Enhancing, Not Replacing, the Human Touch
Despite rapid advances, AI is still struggling with emotional nuance, particularly in custom itinerary planning. Machines excel at repetitive tasks such as sorting inventory, managing schedules, and forecasting demand, but often fail when experiences require empathy and local insight.
Let Me Show You London is a platform that illustrates how companies are navigating this balance. The firm uses AI behind the scenes for operational tasks such as demand forecasting and surge pricing, while keeping human experts at the center of customer engagement.
“If agents aren’t adding anything beyond booking, they’ll fall by the wayside. But those who bring local insight and empathy will thrive,” says Mark Brown, Co-founder of Let Me Show You London.
Brown views AI as an accelerant rather than a disruptor, particularly when it comes to traveler expectations. The most immediate shift, he noted, is not automation itself but the pace at which consumer behavior changes. Booking functionality appearing inside conversational interfaces has compressed decision timelines, often before operators realize the ground has shifted beneath them.
Transactional convenience alone is no longer defensible. Platforms that merely aggregate options without context risk becoming interchangeable. “People choose ease until ease becomes invisible,” Brown said. “Then they choose meaning.”
Operationally, Let Me Show You London uses AI to handle repetitive tasks, freeing human guides to focus on nuance and reassurance. Brown pointed to itinerary customization as a persistent blind spot for automated systems, particularly in multigenerational or accessibility-sensitive travel. Emotional calibration, he argued, remains difficult to codify.
Brown also observed that AI-assisted travelers arrive better informed but more selective. Inquiries now contain sharper constraints and clearer intent, reflecting longer engagement upstream. According to Brown, that shift favors operators who can respond with insight rather than volume. “AI raises the baseline,” Brown noted. “Expertise determines who rises above it.”
Niche Applications and the Power of Storytelling
Beyond logistics, AI is also finding a place in storytelling. Herodot AI uses artificial intelligence to act as an on-demand historical narrator for landmarks, offering contextual depth without replacing guided tours.
The company positions AI as a complement rather than a competitor, particularly in experiential travel where storytelling defines value.
“We see human-led tours as the craft beer of travel—premium, handmade experiences that AI complements, not replaces,” says Oleg Bakatanov, Founder and CEO of Herodot AI.
Bakatanov’s work at Herodot AI sits at the intersection of scale and storytelling. Designed to surface historical context on demand, the platform addresses a longstanding friction in travel: access to narrative depth outside major landmarks. Bakatanov described the original inspiration as personal frustration, navigating historically rich cities without immediate context.
Herodot’s value proposition is not replacement but availability. AI allows travelers to engage with history in moments where human guides are impractical or unavailable. Bakatanov likened the experience to cinematic storytelling rather than academic instruction, emphasizing emotional resonance over exhaustive accuracy.
Safeguards around hallucination and misinformation remain central to Herodot’s development.
The platform’s positioning reflects a broader pattern emerging across travel technology. AI excels at widening access, while humans continue to define depth. Bakatanov views the two as complementary forces, expanding how and when stories are told.
Final Thoughts
Across the industry, a hybrid model is coming into the spotlight. AI tools are making travel faster, smarter, and more personalized, while humans continue to provide trust, nuance, and emotional resonance. At the same time, risks such as AI “hallucinations” and over-automation remain real, reinforcing the need for transparency and user control.
As consumer behavior continues to evolve, the future of travel will witness a meaningful collaboration between AI and human agents.
