As a writer, I started working with AI software in early 2022. I’ve found it can be helpful when researching travel destinations, but even with the strides made in the last year, AI has serious limitations. Large language models like ChatGPT continue to have the problem of not understanding nuance and can only give you a first draft, often with incorrect facts, leading to some organizations warning about misinformation spreading
and proliferating.
Sometimes it says downright silly things. The first AI software that I used, I asked it to tell me about popular things to do in Cancún, Mexico. While it gave me an accurate list, the details weren’t correct, and some things it told me to do were downright silly like “swing from umbrellas” and “stop thirsty with creative cocktail recipes.” AI is getting better at sounding more humanlike, but I haven’t noticed a big difference in accuracy.
Whether or not you’ve tried any of the AI large language models or aren’t sure what ChatGPT even is, keep reading to learn some of the terms you’ll hear when people talk about ChatGPT, how to use it to plan travel and my thoughts on how it is and isn’t helpful.
What is ChatGPT and How does it work?
Definitions
First things first, let’s talk about some terms related to AI. These will be helpful when reading this article and any others about AI.
Artificial intelligence (AI): One popular definition is that artificial intelligence is a field of computer science that deals with engineering machines and software capable of solving problems that typically require human intelligence to resolve. However, there is no universally accepted definition. There are even disagreements among computer scientists on what the definition of "intelligence" is. There is added difficulty as a consumer because AI isn’t a term regulated by the U.S. government. You may have noticed more products with claims of being powered by AI, and while some of these almost certainly are, it isn’t all of them. At the moment, companies are allowed to use the term AI however they want whether or not it’s intentionally misleading marketing language.
Chatbot: A chatbot is software that answers questions and other messages. You’ve likely already used a chatbot if you’ve ever texted a company's customer service. Companies that use AI chatbots aim to improve customer experience by using a chatbot that mimics human speech to answer simple questions and allow customer service agents to handle more complex issues. ChatGPT is also considered a chatbot.
Large language model (LLM): ChatGPT is a large language model, and it is the type of AI with which I have had the most experience. A simple computer program runs on “if, thens” – aka, "If the user pushes a button, then the program executes the corresponding function." However, language is far more complex. For LLMs to work, computer programmers created models, so a program, like ChatGPT, can use complex algorithmic functions to predict the likely next word or phrases based on previously input words.
Natural language processing (NLP): Natural language processing is the ability of AI software to understand human speech and writing.
How do programs like ChatGPT know what they know?
Tons of information was input into ChatGPT, including text from books and webpages. However, the dataset does not have information past 2021, a limitation users should consider. If you are searching for current events, the latest restaurants that have opened (and closed) or details on recent trends, ChatGPT and other LLMs can’t help you.
LLMs also learn from users. That’s right, OpenAI, the company that created and owns ChatGPT, saves what you input, and employees can review users’ chats. I can’t say how likely it is that a person will actually see a chat or what internal policies OpenAI has to protect your information and privacy, but I know I won’t be inputting any personal or sensitive information into the program.
Can I use ChatGPT to travel?
Yes, it won’t save you much time, but it can be a good starting point if you don’t know much about a destination. Also, ChatGPT is fun to use. I recommend trying it out if you are curious. It occasionally saves me time in the research phase, but it’s best not to use it as your only source.
Continue to read articles, check user reviews, plan with Trip Canvas and work with your travel agent. ChatGPT also doesn’t help when it comes to coordinating with family or travel companions; booking airfare, rental cars, hotels and restaurant reservations; or buying attraction tickets. It's best practice to verify everything it tells you because it doesn’t use real-time data. And remember how I said that LLMs predict the next set of words to say based on the previous set? Sometimes LLMs say things that sound perfectly reasonable and true but are demonstrably false. So even if you have ChatGPT decide everything about your vacation, you should open more tabs on your browser to ensure you are visiting attractions during hours and on days they are scheduled as open.
ChatGPT also can’t get to know you, so you’ll likely have a generic vacation where you only visit the most popular spots. It’s not good for planning travel around your specific needs and interests. So you will need to do more research or talk to a travel agent to customize and plan the best vacation for you.
ChatGPT, 2023
How to use ChatGPT for travel?
It’s simple — if you haven’t already, visit OpenAI’s website and create an account to access the free version of ChatGPT. Once in the program, type a command or a question into the text box at the bottom of the screen.
I recently traveled to Boston, so I input, “I'm going to Boston for a week with my family. Can you make an itinerary for things to do while we are there?” It made a seven-day itinerary with things to do each morning, afternoon and evening. This was a great starting point! It was organized and easy to understand.
Boston is a popular destination, so ChatGPT likely has a lot of information about it. It got most things correct, and I was also quite impressed that it grouped nearby attractions versus randomly listing them. It messed up some details: It suggests a full day of sightseeing on day 1, a travel day. That is too much for me, and I think a lot of people prefer to take their initial travel day a little easy. Day 6 also has issues. For the afternoon activities, it suggests going to either the Museum of Science or the MIT Museum. Sounds great! Except, if I followed along with the itinerary, I would have been to the Museum of Science on my second day and gone to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) campus the next. There are enough things to do in and around Boston not to repeat anything on the same vacation.
The Boston itinerary is a good starting point, but it also left out a lot. Everyone I spoke to familiar with Boston warned me that driving is difficult and parking could get expensive, so using public transportation is a great way to get around Boston. If I hadn’t talked to friends or done other research, I may not have thought to look into that. It also didn’t recommend any tours. There of tons of walking tours, hop-on hop-off trolleys, ghost tours, and harbor and whale watching tours. That’s a big oversight in my opinion.
ChatGPT, 2023
Can you ask ChatGPT follow-up questions or for additional information?
Yes, you can ask it to go into more detail about something in a previous answer, about how to get around a destination and a multitude of other questions you might have, like typical weather conditions and what you should pack. You can even tell it something like, “I don’t want to visit that many museums. What are the outdoor things I can do?” You can treat a chat with ChatGPT like a conversation, but it only remembers about 3,000 words of text within a chat, so if you’ve already input several prompts, you may need to provide context to your questions because ChatGPT won’t know what you’re referencing if it was too far back in the chat.
You still have the same problem you always do though: The information may not be accurate, and you need to double-check with another source. Also, look for up-to-date information like unusual weather patterns, road construction, train or subway line closures, etc.
ChatGPT, 2023
Can ChatGPT help me book hotels?
No, ChatGPT can recommend hotels, but you cannot book a hotel directly from the chat. Also, keep in mind that ChatGPT and other LLMs are not using real-time data and sometimes provide incorrect information, so you will have to use another source to compare prices. ChatGPT also can function a bit like a Magic 8 Ball. You can ask the same question over and over and get different responses each time, so if you ask for the best hotel in Boston and then ask for the best hotels for my week vacation in Boston, you might get two different lists of hotels.
ChatGPT, 2023
Can ChatGPT help me save money on travel?
ChatGPT can offer generic advice on how to save money, but it can’t tell you about sales, limited-time deals or last-minute airfare. Keeping this in mind, I was curious what information ChatGPT would provide me about Boston. So after I got my itinerary, I asked, “Those activities sound great. Do you have any suggestions on how I can save money while in Boston?” It responded with some solid advice, including taking public transportation, walking and biking to get around Boston instead of renting a car and driving. It listed some free attractions and reminded me to look for discounted tickets, especially if I’m a student, senior or active or retired military. It suggested packing snacks and water, so I didn’t have to potentially purchase them at a premium when out and about. It also recommended the Boston CityPASS and the Go Boston Pass, both of which are fantastic options that allow you to save money on admission to Boston area attractions. It recommended shopping at Haymarket, which after visiting, I found that the market offers fruit and other produce at fabulous prices and has varieties not typically available in my local grocery stores.
It did give me some weird advice too. ChatGPT recommended that I eat at food trucks and local eateries to save money. I enjoy food trucks, but I’ve never found them to be cheap food places. I also love eating at local restaurants and trying new foods when I travel, but if there is a cost difference between local and chain restaurants in Boston, I certainly didn’t notice. It recommended picnics in parks, a lovely idea, but it wasn’t practical for me. I opted to stay a little outside the city. I wasn’t near my accommodations at lunchtime, and I didn’t want to lug around food all day in my backpack.
Would I use ChatGPT again to travel?
I'll continue testing and learning about AI and LLMs in my professional life, but it’s unlikely that I will use it to plan a personal vacation, at least not in its current state. The program is fun to use, and I am astonished by how lifelike it seems. Even so, I would rather watch videos and read articles by people who are travel experts, have been there or are local to the destination. I’ll keep an eye on the progress of AI, though, and I might try using it to plan a vacation again if there are any significant updates.
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Michelle Palmer is a development editor who has over 10 years of experience in the travel publishing industry. She loves telling the stories, histories and culture of places that inspire others to go and experience new destinations. When not traveling, she participates in circus arts, goes to live shows and is a “Murder, She Wrote” aficionado.
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