AI hits its stride: 5 takeaways for travel leaders

Artificial intelligence (AI) has moved from novelty to habit for most U.S. travelers, reshaping how trips get researched, planned and booked.

According to Phocuswright’s research report The AI Surge: Travel's Fastest Behavioral Shift in a Decade, generative AI platforms such as ChatGPT surged to 33% usage for trip research, quintupling since 2024, and adoption is no longer limited to early adopters. Millennials lead the way, with 74% using AI for at least one trip in the past year, followed by 72% of Gen Z. But usage climbed sharply across every generation, including a notable jump among boomers, in just the past six months.

Expectations are rising just as fast: 44% of travelers would book directly inside an AI platform and 40% would let an AI assistant handle flight and hotel bookings on their behalf, both up year over year. Price comparisons drive the most action on AI recommendations at 44%, followed by summarized reviews at 33% and recognized brands at 32%.

The video below breaks down five insights from the report that matter most to travel executives: how adoption is accelerating across every generation, why AI is closing in on traditional search even as search holds its ground and where AI's value is migrating next in the trip funnel.

Traveler behavior is shifting faster than most planning cycles can keep up with, and gut instinct isn't a strategy. Rigorous, ongoing research into how travelers actually search, decide and spend gives travel executives the intelligence needed to act ahead of the curve instead of reacting to it.