Chicago-based United Airlines announced Wednesday it will no longer let AI assistants and agents complete flight bookings through its systems. The airline says the tools pose privacy risks to customer data and could trigger purchases a traveler never intended to make.
United also flagged a legal obstacle. The Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Transportation require airlines to present certain information directly to the customer, something an automated agent cannot always do. United’s example: an AI agent cannot attest, during check-in, that a passenger’s bags are free of explosives.
Under the new policy, AI agents such as Meta’s Muse and OpenAI’s Dots can still search United’s flight options and prices for a customer. They just can’t finish the transaction on United’s website. United said its back-end systems can already distinguish bookings made by individuals, traditional travel agencies, and AI agents, and that AI-driven bookings remain rare for now. The airline says it will keep reviewing the policy as the technology develops.
United CEO Scott Kirby, speaking Tuesday at an event in Chicago, framed the decision around keeping the airline’s relationship with customers direct. “To be honest, I don’t want to create another middleman,” he said. Kirby added that he’s come to appreciate AI’s potential after building his own sports betting app by vibe-coding it over three hourly sessions with a tutor.
United also urged other companies to “consider measures that preserve the data and security of their customers and strengthen safety.”
United Stands Apart From Rivals
No other major U.S. carrier has publicly restricted AI booking agents. Southwest Airlines rolled out a ChatGPT plug-in earlier this year letting customers search its flight inventory through the chatbot. Delta says AI assistants can complete bookings once authenticated, with added safeguards for “sensitive transactions” like trips booked for unaccompanied minors. American Airlines says some AI agents, including Muse, can already buy tickets through certain partners, and customers can direct an agent to complete a booking directly on American’s site.
United’s move puts it in the same camp as Amazon, which has also kept purchasing bots at a distance.
Industry Still Betting Big on AI Travel Tools
The announcement lands as interest in AI-driven booking accelerates. OpenAI this week bought Odessia, a startup building AI travel-booking tools. Last month Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said travel planning is among the top uses for the company’s Muse agent.
Actual usage still looks minimal. Uber Technologies said that during the busy Halloween week this month, its drivers completed 320 million combined trips across Uber and Uber Eats. AI agents accounted for just 500 Uber Eats orders and four ride bookings out of that total.
