AI booking tools may simplify checkout, but they do not necessarily bring travel suppliers closer to customers. A study by travel marketing agency Propellic found that AI agents often routed reservations through intermediaries, even when travellers requested a specific airline.
The travel marketing agency tested Meta’s Muse and text-based AI agent Instinct across flight, hotel and tour requests. Its findings highlight a distinction for travel brands: being selected by an AI agent does not guarantee receiving the booking directly. Both tools routed airline-specific requests through booking technology provider Duffel.
However, explicit instructions changed some outcomes. Every hotel request specifying “book direct” led to the property itself. Muse also routed flight requests directly to airlines when instructed to do so, while Instinct continued to use Duffel.
Travellers remain cautious about letting AI complete the purchase. Among surveyed users, 66% stopped at research or shortlisting, while just 13% reported completing a booking through the agent. Even among those who did, 83% checked another source first.
“Agentic AI platforms have swung the pendulum back towards the traditional travel supply chain, adding a new layer in the middle,” said Propellic founder and CEO Brennen Bliss.
The research covered 176 scripted booking requests, a survey of 217 users and 22 recorded interviews incorporating a live booking task. The findings provide an early view of two platforms, rather than a measure of AI travel booking across the market.