Will AI Replace Travel Agents? Not If You’re Doing It Right.

The short answer is no. But the real answer is more nuanced - and it depends on what kind of travel agent you want to be.

As we move deeper into 2025, the hype around artificial intelligence in travel continues to grow. Companies like Expedia, Booking.com, and Google Travel are integrating AI-driven assistants into every part of the user journey. ChatGPT plugins now help travellers plan itineraries, compare flights, and even summarise visa rules.

But here’s the reality: AI is only replacing the kind of agent who adds no value beyond what a user can already find online. If your business model is based solely on booking flights or pulling generic hotel recommendations, AI probably will outperform you - faster, cheaper, and 24/7. If, however, you understand your client, can interpret complex needs, and bring real financial and logistical insight to the table, AI becomes a tool, not a threat.

What AI does well in travel

According to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), AI is now widely used in dynamic pricing, flight disruption management, and itinerary automation. For simple trips, like a weekend in New York or a return flight to Paris, large language models like ChatGPT can offer decent recommendations and bookable options in minutes.

AI is especially powerful for:

• Recommending high-rated hotels based on review data

• Flagging visa requirements

• Summarising large amounts of content quickly

• Generating itineraries with basic structure

• Translating content or chat in real time

This is useful, and dangerous, if you’re a travel agent who doesn’t go deeper than a list of options. But it also creates opportunity.

What AI cannot do well

AI cannot read between the lines of what a client really wants. It doesn’t know if the client has mobility issues. It cannot sense that a honeymoon couple will find that “cute boutique” hotel too loud on a Friday night. It doesn’t understand a parent’s anxiety about a connecting flight with a toddler.

More importantly, AI doesn’t do FX. It doesn’t negotiate supplier terms. It doesn’t build long-term trust. And it cannot be held accountable.

AI also still struggles with:

• Real-time inventory or last-minute room availability

• Multi-country trips with nuanced visa and timing rules

• Complex loyalty schemes, status matching, or cruise credits

• Payment compliance across international borders

• Emotional reassurance when something goes wrong

According to a 2024 Forbes Advisor survey, 71% of travellers said they value human support when things don’t go to plan. That’s your role.

AI is pushing agents to get better

Travel agents who succeed in 2025 are the ones who use AI as a tool, not a crutch. Use it to brainstorm ideas, check flight timings, or summarise basic info. But build your value in areas where AI can’t reach:

• Financial clarity: Transparent breakdown of FX costs, payment schedules, local taxes, and insurance

• Client insight: Tailoring a trip not just to a destination, but to a life stage, emotional need, or budget comfort zone

• Supplier negotiation: Upgrades, added nights, flexible terms — none of which AI can secure

• Complex logistics: Combining three countries, two languages, and a multi-generational family trip with confidence

At Antravia, we see this every day. The agents who are thriving are the ones who’ve tightened up their backend, started charging professional fees, moved beyond commission-only models, and stopped relying on copy-paste itineraries. They’ve made AI irrelevant.

The financial angle

AI might be cheaper for clients - but not always. If a traveller books four flights across Asia using ChatGPT recommendations and ends up with non-refundable rates, bad FX conversions, and local payment issues, they will spend far more in hidden costs than they would using an experienced agent.

Use this as your edge. Explain to clients:

• Why your margin is fair

• How your payment structures protect them

• How you handle FX exposure and cancellation risk

• What service you’ll offer if their flight is cancelled mid-trip

These are things AI doesn’t explain well — or at all.

The Antravia view

If you’re doing your job well, AI is not your competition. It is your assistant, your idea-starter, your background checker. The real threat isn’t AI - it’s agents who won’t adapt.

Clients are smarter. They want real insight, financial transparency, and long-term support. They’ll use AI - but they’ll trust you if you give them a reason to.

If you're not sure how to shift your value proposition, or if you're still giving away your time for free, talk to us. At Antravia, we help travel agents build financial models that are built to last - even when the tools change.