Some people love travel planning.
But I am not one of those people.
So the idea that artificial intelligence chatbots, such as ChatGPT and Bing, can research travel destinations and create itineraries is intriguing.
But I’m skeptical too.
Do recommendations just scratch the surface — for example, suggesting that I see the Eiffel Tower in Paris? Or can they recommend lesser-known restaurants and handle specific hotel requests too?
The answer is: yes and no — at least for ChatGPT.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t test Bing. When I tried to access it, I was put on a waiting list. The website said I could “get ahead in the line” if I set Microsoft defaults on my computer and scanned a QR code to install the Bing app. I did both. I’m still waiting.
ChatGPT was easier. I went to the developer’s website, clicked on the word “ChatGPT,” registered for an account — and started chatting.
Sandat Glamping Tents had a 4.9/5 rating on Google (actual: 4.5/5) and “over 400 excellent reviews” on Tripadvisor (actual: 277 reviews).
But perhaps the biggest blunder: Free Spirit Spheres is actually in Canada, which the bot acknowledged when pressed.
ChatGPT is nothing if not apologetic.
Cost estimates for each hotel were more accurate. But ChatGPT couldn’t show photographs of the hotels or help book them — although it did provide ample instructions on how to do both.
By road or by rail?
For a road trip across the United States, ChatGPT recommended Route 66, Pacific Coast Highway and the Great River Road, the latter of which traces the Mississippi River through 10 states.
What about train trips in Europe? “Certainly!” it said, recommending:
- The Orient Express — from Paris to Istanbul
- The Glacier Express — from St. Moritz to Zermatt, Switzerland
- The Bernina Express — from Chur, Switzerland, to Tirano, Italy
- The Golden Pass Line — from Lucerne to Montreux, Switzerland
- The Trans-Siberian Railway — “one of the world’s most famous train journeys” from Moscow to Vladivostok, Russia
One issue: The “Orient Express” is no longer in service. Does ChapGPT know this?
It does, but it seems to confuse every departure of the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express — which uses restored carriages from the original train service — with the once-annual Paris to Istanbul route, which will run in August this year, and has already sold out.
Flights
ChatGPT can name airlines that connect cities, but it can’t give current flight information or help book flights.
It wasn’t able to tell me the cheapest fare — or any fare — from London to New York this spring because it doesn’t “have access to real-time pricing information,” it said.
In fact, ChatGPT data ends at September 2021; it doesn’t “know” anything that’s happened since.
However, the bot could answer which month the London-to-New York route is usually the cheapest, which it said is “January and February, or during the shoulder season months of March and November.”
As for the best airline in the world, it said: “As an AI language model, I cannot have personal preferences or opinions.” But it went on to name the top five airlines named to Skytrax’s “World’s Top 100 Airlines” in 2021.
The list wasn’t correct.
The list provided by ChatGPT appears to be Skytrax’s airline ranking from 2019 instead.
