Imagine planning a holiday across India’s Golden Triangle: Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. You could compare dozens of websites, scroll through reviews and ask friends for recommendations.

Or you could give ChatGPT or Gemini your dates, budget and interests and receive an itinerary in seconds.

You are not alone. Many Australians are already doing this. According to a recent survey of adult travellers, 28.8% of Australians used generative artificial intelligence (AI) to find deals, check out destinations and create their travel itineraries.

Among Gen Z travellers, Australian government research puts the figure at 30%.

AI is becoming the gatekeeper between those travellers and the destinations, hotels and experiences they choose. Our new research set out to understand what makes travellers willing to delegate travel decisions to AI platforms.

Australians made a record 12.3 million trips overseas in 2024–25, 11.6% more than the year before, in addition to 113 million domestic trips.

Our findings tell us that travellers consider using generative AI for travel planning based on five characteristics: reliability, accountability, trustworthiness, fairness and transparency.

We also examined different levels of delegation to generative AI, from allowing AI tools to design travel........

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