When ticket and hotel rates are at their lowest, I want to take a four-day trip to Los Angeles in June using loyalty rewards points. That’s how a vacation might begin in the near future, powered by artificial intelligence. I’d like reservations for a 7 p.m. supper at a restaurant with vegan alternatives and a wonderful wine list close to the hotel after visiting a history museum and an amusement park. Your phone then generates the ideal itinerary.
Yet, for the time being, users of ChatGPT, a potent new A.I. program that has already started composing college papers and suggesting inventive cocktail recipes, may need to adjust their expectations.
Nonetheless, ChatGPT has its limits. First off, its knowledge base currently only extends through 2021, and it lacks access to crucial travel-related information that can change at any time, such as flight schedules and weather predictions. A significant improvement was just launched this week, and new versions are now being created. Moreover, the software sometimes fails to distinguish between trustworthy and dubious online sources of information, leading it to provide false information in its responses. The software’s developer, OpenAI, also cautions that “biased content” may occasionally be generated via ChatGPT.
The program is freely available and can be downloaded from the OpenAI website. Travel advisors can use it, and tourist offices can invite ChatGPT to produce marketing text describing must-see locations.