[Kerwin At AI Travel Pulse] How AI Is Changing Travel

Hi AI Traveler,

I’ve not sent one of these in a while, so thanks for sticking with me. I’m back, and I want your help shaping where this goes next.

There are many directions I could take AI Travel Pulse, but rather than guessing, I’d love to hear from you. Just hit reply and tell me what you’d like me to cover. No poll — just your thoughts.

It’s been a little crazy in the AI world

New tools seem to launch every week, and even more people are telling you how you should be using them. I’ve been experimenting quietly, testing what actually works in real travel situations.

Here’s one example.

Whenever I travel I take a photo of a departure board, upload it to ChatGPT, and ask it to analyze patterns. Things like:

• What percentage of flights are heading to the Caribbean

• Peak departure windows

• Route clustering by time of day

Yes, it’s geeky — but this is the real power of large language models: spotting patterns and insights faster than we ever could manually.

AI is already reshaping travel (right now)

Planning trips with AI (it actually works)

I’m currently planning a special around-the-world project, and I’ve been using Google Gemini to help shape it. Gemini has access to a lot of structured travel data, and if you know what to ask, the results can be impressive. And they are.

Another example:
A friend and I met up in New York recently. He’s an aviation geek, so of course we wanted to see aviation-related sights. I told ChatGPT exactly what we wanted, asked it to build an itinerary based on geography, and even requested the Staten Island Ferry at sunset.

It wasn’t perfect — but it was good.
And I know New York very well.

So when I hear people say AI “can’t do itineraries,” I shake my head a little. It absolutely can — if you know how to guide it.

What say you?

💬 AI Travel Prompt

Since we are talking about itineraries. Try this Prompt for a place you are very familiar with. See how close it comes to what you know. Also, ask for its sources. You can also tell it to use only a particular website and to exclude others. A good test is to tell it to use your own Website and see how it does.

“Generate a three-day travel itinerary for [City, Country], including morning, afternoon, and evening activities with distances from each other, transportation options, cost estimates, and alternate plans for rain or delays.”

🌍 AI in Travel

🗞️ Top Headlines — AI & Travel (This Week)

🔹 OpenAI’s new AI hardware device is on track for 2026
OpenAI is reportedly developing a dedicated AI hardware device expected in 2026 — potentially changing how people interact with AI day-to-day.
👉 https://www.axios.com/2026/01/23/openai-device-earbuds-sweetpea-altman

🟦 AI travel influencers are reshaping storytelling
AI-generated travel influencers are gaining traction with brands, raising big questions around authenticity, trust, and storytelling.
👉 https://dig.watch/updates/india-ai-travel-influencers-digital-storytelling

🟩 Travel bookings reshaped by AI for smarter spend
Kintetsu International partnered with Oversee to automatically reshop flights and hotels after booking — meaning prices could drop after you book.
👉 https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kintetsu-international-partners-with-oversee-to-deliver-ai-powered-air-and-hotel-reshopping-for-smarter-travel-spend-302668012.html

✈️ Quick Take: Why This Matters for Travelers

AI is moving beyond planning trips and into managing them. It’s monitoring prices, shaping what destinations you see, and influencing what trips you dream about.

Travelers who know how to use AI well will save time, money, and mental energy. But blindly trusting AI isn’t the goal — understanding how to ask the right questions and sanity-check the answers is where the real power is.

You’re still the travel expert.
AI is just another tool in the kit.

🧠 AI Tip

Treat your AI prompts like test flights.
Know your destination (outcome), departure point (context), and constraints (budget, dates, style) before you hit enter. Clear framing dramatically improves results and cuts down on wasted back-and-forth.

😂 Fun Fact

A recent travel tech report found over half of American travelers expect to use AI somewhere in their trip planning this year — but more than half still haven’t actually used it yet. So folks are thinking about AI a lot more than they’re using it right now. Source: TakeUp

AI Consultancy

If you’re running a travel brand, content business, or DMO and want to understand how AI fits your workflow, I offer a one-hour AI strategy consultation.

One hour · $597
Reply to this email if you’re interested, and we’ll take it from there.

AI Travel Pulse Podcast

Watch the current episodes below. Someday I’ll get to load episode 4.

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Remember that if you know of an AI Travel product you’d like reviewed, please let me know. Plus, I’d be grateful if you share the podcasts.

How are you using AI to help you in your business?

Please do me a favor and share this newsletter with at least two people. Thank you in advance.

Until next time.

Kerwin
Founder, AI Travel Pulse

P.S. Don't forget to check out your welcome gift if you haven't already: A Guide to Popular AI Tools