How to use ChatGPT, Gemini and other assistants for a trip
General AI assistants can research a destination, draft an itinerary and pull live travel prices, and most of this works without a paid plan. They differ in where the travel data comes from: Gemini uses Google Flights, Google Hotels and Maps, ChatGPT and Claude search partners such as Booking.com and Expedia inside the chat, and Perplexity answers from web sources and added hotel reservations to its apps in 2025. In an ordinary chat you usually finish the booking on another site. Help with the booking itself comes from paid browser agents, such as ChatGPT Work (Plus or Pro), Gemini's Task (Google AI Pro or Ultra) and Claude in Chrome (paid plans), which ask for your approval before paying.
Where to start, by situation
Google Gemini
General AI assistant
You already plan in Google: it pulls live options from Google Flights and Google Hotels, groups itineraries by neighbourhood with Maps data and, with Personal Intelligence on, can refer to confirmations in your Google apps.
- Books for you on paid plans
ChatGPT
General AI assistant
You already use ChatGPT: it calls travel apps such as Booking.com and Expedia inside the chat and shows places in ChatGPT Maps; on Plus and Pro its cloud browser can carry out bookings on websites.
- Books for you on paid plans
Perplexity
AI answer engine
You want sourced answers: it builds day-by-day plans from travel guides, tourism data and recent visitor reports, and it added hotel search and reservations to its iPhone and Android apps in 2025.
- You book in the same app
Meta AI
General AI assistant
Planning with friends on WhatsApp: tag @Meta AI in the group chat for destination ideas and an itinerary; it does not book, but points you to the right website.
Claude
General AI assistant
Search stays, tours and trails in one chat: its connectors for Booking.com, Tripadvisor, Viator, AllTrails and Expedia's flight and hotel search are included on every plan, including Free.
- Books for you on paid plans
What matters when choosing
- Where its travel data comes from: Gemini uses Google Flights, Hotels and Maps; ChatGPT and Claude call partner apps such as Booking.com and Expedia; Perplexity draws on web sources, with Tripadvisor insights on hotel pages; Grok searches the web and public posts on X.
- Whether it books: in a standard chat you usually finish on another site. Perplexity added hotel reservations to its apps in 2025, and paid browser features (ChatGPT Work, Gemini's Task, Claude in Chrome) work through booking sites and pause for your approval before a purchase; ChatGPT Work and Claude in Chrome can then complete it.
- What it can see: Gemini with Personal Intelligence can refer to flight and hotel confirmations in your Google apps, Siri AI can find a hotel confirmation number in an old email, and Grok can read a connected email account and calendar.
- Where you live: Gemini's Task is not available in the European Economic Area (EEA: the EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway), Switzerland, the UK or Nigeria; OpenAI says some ChatGPT apps may be unavailable in the EEA, the UK or Switzerland; Siri AI is not available in the EU on iPhone.
- What you pay: research and itineraries work on free plans, with usage limits. Browser features generally need a paid plan: in the US, ChatGPT Plus and Claude Pro are $20 a month, and Google AI Pro and Microsoft 365 Premium are $19.99. ChatGPT Go ($8) does not include the cloud browser.
ChatGPT, Gemini and other assistants for travel compared
| Tool | What it helps you do | What using it involves | Limits to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | Research, draft itineraries and search Booking.com, Expedia and other travel apps in one chat. | Ask in plain language; web search, travel apps and ChatGPT Maps answer inside the conversation. | Booking.com's app sends you to its site to book. Cloud browsing needs Plus ($20/month) or Pro. Source for ChatGPT |
| Google Gemini | Plan with live Google Flights and Google Hotels options and a Maps-based itinerary. | Describe the trip; with Personal Intelligence on, it can refer to bookings already in your Google apps. | Standard search cannot book and links out. Task needs AI Pro ($19.99/month) and is not in the EEA, Switzerland, the UK or Nigeria. Source for Google Gemini |
| Claude | Research trips and search Booking.com, Tripadvisor, Viator, AllTrails and Expedia from one chat. | Connectors work on every plan; on paid plans, Claude in Chrome clicks, types and fills in forms on websites. | Claude in Chrome needs a paid plan (Pro is $20/month) and works only in Google Chrome on a computer; purchases wait for your approval. Source for Claude |
| Perplexity | Get sourced answers, day-by-day itineraries and hotel options with prices. | Ask with your constraints; refine hotel results by dates or budget, with reservations added to its apps in 2025. | Free plan has very limited Pro Searches. Pro hotel discounts are for US-based subscribers only. Perplexity has not confirmed hotel booking's current scope. Source for Perplexity |
| Microsoft Copilot | Compare options such as restaurants and routes across your open browser tabs. | In Edge, with your permission, Copilot reads open tabs; Browse with Copilot clicks through sites while you watch. | Browse with Copilot is US-only, needs Microsoft 365 Premium ($19.99/month) and is labelled experimental. Source for Microsoft Copilot |
| Meta AI | Research destinations and draft itineraries, including in a WhatsApp group. | Chat in the Meta AI app or at meta.ai, or tag @Meta AI in a WhatsApp group chat. | Does not book flights or hotels; it points you to websites. Some features are not available to all users. Source for Meta AI |
| Siri AI | Ask travel questions by voice and find trip details, such as a hotel confirmation, in your email. | Ask Siri by voice or in the Siri app; it combines your apps, what is on screen and the web. | In beta. Waitlist, English only at first. Not in the EU on iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch. Needs an Apple Intelligence device. Source for Siri AI |
| Grok | Get current answers from live web and X searches, such as what people are posting about a place. | Ask on the web or in the apps; it can also read a connected email account, files and calendar. | No travel features or booking documented. Free use is limited; Plus is $8/month. Source for Grok |
| aitrips.io | Save an itinerary planned with Claude or ChatGPT to a shareable map. | Add it as a connector, sign in and approve access; the assistant adds stays, activities and transport legs. | No booking. Free plan: about 15 AI requests per 30 days and one active trip. ChatGPT needs a plan that allows custom connectors. Source for aitrips.io |
What a free chat can do
ChatGPT, Gemini and Meta AI can draft an itinerary from one message without a paid plan, and Perplexity's Deep Research builds day-by-day itineraries around your constraints. For live prices, Gemini pulls results from Google Flights and Google Hotels, ChatGPT can call travel apps such as Expedia's, which works on its Free plan, and Claude's Booking.com and Expedia connectors are on every plan. Step-by-step guides cover planning a trip with ChatGPT and Gemini trip planning and Google's other travel AI.
In those chats you usually finish the booking elsewhere. Gemini's flight and hotel search cannot book and links out, ChatGPT's Booking.com and Expedia apps send you to those sites, and Meta says Meta AI finds options and directs you to the right website. Perplexity is the exception for hotels: in 2025 it added reservations in its iPhone and Android apps, though it has not confirmed the feature's current scope.
Booking help on paid plans
Paid plans add an agent that uses websites for you. ChatGPT Work runs a cloud browser on Plus and Pro (not on Free or Go), Gemini's Task uses Chrome on Google AI Pro and Ultra, Claude in Chrome works in Google Chrome on a computer on paid plans, and Browse with Copilot works in Edge for Microsoft 365 Premium subscribers in the US.
Each pauses before money changes hands: Gemini hands payment back to you, while ChatGPT asks for confirmation before a reservation or payment and Claude in Chrome waits for your approval on purchases, after which they can complete it. Microsoft calls Browse with Copilot experimental and advises against using it for financial activity. For services built mainly to book, see the guide to AI travel agents.
What it can see about you
Some assistants can use your own data to fill in trip details. With Personal Intelligence turned on, Gemini can refer to flight and hotel confirmations already in your Google apps. Siri AI can surface a hotel confirmation number from an old email, and Grok can read a connected email account, files and calendar.
This saves digging out booking references, but it means giving the assistant access to your inbox or calendar. Gemini's Task also requires Personal Intelligence, so decide what you are comfortable sharing before you turn it on.
Check your country and the date
Travel features in assistants are often limited by country. Gemini's Task is not available in the EEA, Switzerland, the UK or Nigeria, Expedia's ChatGPT app is not available in the EU, and Tripadvisor's is for US users only. Google AI Mode, the chat in Google Search, can set Google Flights price alerts in more than 180 countries and territories, but not in the EEA.
Features also change quickly. OpenAI's ChatGPT agent, which could make reservations on websites, is no longer available, and Siri AI is a beta with a waitlist, in English only at first. Ask the assistant for links, then confirm prices, opening hours and entry rules with the source.
Head-to-head comparisons
- ChatGPT vs Gemini for travel ChatGPT vs Gemini for a trip: where each gets its travel data, what each can book, which paid plan its agent needs and where that agent is unavailable.
Guides for this task
- Google's AI travel tools: Gemini trip planning and AI Mode Plan a trip with Gemini and Google's other travel AI: AI Mode, Flight Deals, Maps, Lens and Translate. What books, what links out and what needs a paid plan.
- How to plan a trip with ChatGPT Use ChatGPT as a trip planner: step-by-step method, travel prompts to copy, the travel apps inside it, what needs a paid plan and where you finish booking.
ChatGPT, Gemini and other assistants for travel: common questions
Can ChatGPT book flights?
Not in the normal chat: travel apps such as Expedia's and Iberia's show flights in the chat, and you finish booking on their sites. ChatGPT Work's browser, on Plus and Pro, can carry out a booking on a website after asking you to confirm. How to plan a trip with ChatGPT covers both.
Can Gemini book flights and hotels?
Gemini's standard search shows real-time options from Google Flights and Google Hotels but cannot book, cancel or change reservations; it links out. Task, for Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers aged 18 and over, can start a booking on websites and hands payment back to you. Task is not available in the European Economic Area, Switzerland, the UK or Nigeria.
Is ChatGPT or Gemini better for travel planning?
Neither is better for every trip: Gemini builds on Google Flights, Google Hotels and Maps, and ChatGPT reaches travel apps such as Booking.com and Expedia inside the chat. The ChatGPT vs Gemini comparison sets out what each can book and which plan its agent needs.
Can Meta AI plan a trip in WhatsApp?
Yes. You can tag @Meta AI in a WhatsApp group chat to plan a group trip, and it can research destinations and draft an itinerary. It does not book flights or hotels; Meta says it finds options and directs you to the right website.
Can Perplexity book hotels?
Perplexity added hotel search and booking in 2025, with reservations from its iOS and Android apps; it has not confirmed the feature's current scope in 2026. You can refine hotel results by dates or budget, and hotel pages show traveller insights from Tripadvisor. US-based Pro subscribers get discounts on bookings made through Selfbook, capped at $200 per booking.
