Using Artificial Intelligence Chatbots to Plan Vacations

My husband and I are heading to Chicago for our wedding anniversary, and while visiting that city I just passed by O’Hare – so I’ve been playing around using AI chatbots to plan a vacation. While it’s a good issue to have, travel planning on the internet can be overwhelming because there’s SO much to review: so many “best of” lists, so many customer reviews, and so on. I don’t have a lot of time or energy to do a lot of Chicago research right now, so I thought I’d try to get the AI ​​to help, at least as a jumping off point.

What are your favorite ways to research a travel destination? Do you ever use a travel agency? What are your favorite travel forums or websites? (And what are some great tips from Corporette readers?)

Most of my experience with AI chatbots so far has been with my 12-year-old son, who is really into computers and technology. We tried OpenAIs ChatGPT and Google poet together and separately for the past few months. (Looking at my ChatGPT background, he asked things like, “What was the most unethical experiment ever?” and “How does an AI know it’s not really sensitive?”) Recently, I thought of asking about random cat cafes. I started asking more questions about Chicago and then about the city.

Disclaimer: Aspect New York Times The story, revealed earlier this week, is that not only do AI chatbots sometimes provide false information, they also occasionally invent something. (The developers call it … “hallucination”.) Therefore, when researching a resort, you should double-check that recommended restaurants and other businesses are still around.

Pros and Cons of Using Artificial Intelligence Chatbots to Plan Vacations

I’ve noticed some pros and cons when dealing with AI travel planning:

pros

• Ad-free!
• ChatGPT and Bard are free to use. (OpenAIs ChatGPT Plus $20 per month.)
• Having a text-only interface and zero padding can help you stay focused when you don’t have much time. And if you want to see what a particular hotel looks like, for example, then searching for it on Google is easy enough.
• Artificial intelligence chatbots give you clear, short and sweet answers. For example, if you ask about a type of restaurant (more on this later), ChatGPT usually gives you five options. This is great if you don’t want to be overwhelmed by a bunch of Yelp reviews, travel websites/blogs, Reddit recommendations, etc. [Things] inside [Place]” is the most reliable.

Cons

• ChatGPTs and Bard’s responses: Far from 100% reliablemakes it important to check the information they provide on the spot.
• You don’t know exactly where chatbots get their information outside of the “internet”.
• ChatGPT admits it has “limited knowledge of the world and events after 2021”. For example, it could potentially give you a recommendation for a restaurant that used to have a good reputation but collapsed and burned down or was shut down by the health department – rats, anyone? – and reopened. Also, the URLs may be out of date.
• Generally, AI can be biased.
• You may have access issues to get started. Two people I know have had trouble signing up for a ChatGPT account in the past few weeks; for example, someone was wrongly told that he already had an account and was not allowed to register in the first place. Also, you may need to join a waiting list To register with Bard; A while ago I was able to get an account because Google One.
• This may be big for some people: As you can probably tell from the “pros” above, it’s not as fun as other ways of researching a trip.

let’s get straight to the point horses mouth of the chatbot. Here are the pros and cons over ChatGPT (summary of a much longer answer he originally gave me):

There are advantages to using ChatGPT to plan a vacation, such as access to vast amounts of information, personalized recommendations, quick and easy access, and 24/7 availability. However, there are also disadvantages such as lack of human touch and empathy, limited interaction, over-reliance on technology and lack of context. Because planning a vacation involves more than just logistics and information, it’s important to use ChatGPT in conjunction with other sources of information and advice.

{relating to: open topic: how to get rid of the stress of vacation planning}

My Tips for Using Artificial Intelligence Chatbots to Plan Vacations

I’m by no means an expert in vacation planning with AI, but in my experience so far I’ve found some strategies.

From the very beginning, “What are the best hotels in Chicago?” I decided not to ask super simple questions like or “What are the best pizza places in Chicago?” because they didn’t seem like the best use of AI. I got more specific and asked aboutinteresting shopping places, “deep dish pizza restaurants” popular with locals,” and “museums it doesn’t take much time“ChatGPT usually gave me five options, each with a one-sentence description (with URLs when I asked).

Replace “best” with “unusual”, “popular with locals”, “authentic”, “best kept secret” etc. Try words and phrases like (Is that a guarantee that you’ll get what you want? YMMV.)

To save time in your planning[type of cuisine] close [hotel]” and you will instantly get a short list of restaurant names/descriptions without having to mess with a map. (I’m not very good with maps and it’s frustrating to have to zoom in and out all the time.) As an example of an alternative, I Googled “I searched for Chinese restaurants near the Chicago Athletic Association where we were staying and was presented with 22,000,000 search results.

Note that ChatGPT isn’t very up to date after 2021, so “What touring Broadway shows will be in Chicago in June 2023?” It probably won’t get you anywhere. It makes more sense to research annual festivals.

Here’s something interesting: The Chicago Athletic Association, where my college alumni/me share travel advice (another great way to research destinations!). After booking, I asked ChatGPT a similar question and it was one of the chatbot’s five suggestions.

{relating to: Have you ever gone on vacation alone?}

Where Should You Keep Your Research When Using Artificial Intelligence When Planning Vacations?

Nothing groundbreaking here, but I created a Google document to pour it all in and then shared it with my husband. We can fine-tune, check on the spot, and then make decisions. (Here is a copy of the document, if you’re interested!) I’m so glad I did, BECAUSE for some reason, none of my Chicago Q&A were saved in my account, which I just discovered. Thanks, ChatGPT.

Generally, however, all your Q&A purchases are saved in your account, and you can rename or simply delete them to make them more identifiable.

Tell readers: have you used or would you consider using AI to plan a vacation? (Also tell us about your summer vacations this year!) Have you used AI chatbots for anything else, including work?