AI Travel Assistant Questions (2026)

More travelers now ask AI for trip planning, price tracking, and on-the-fly help—and they’re satisfied with the results. In 2025, 28% used AI for planning and over 90% were happy, according to the Kaspersky survey of global travelers, with heavy use for activities, hotels, and restaurants: see Kaspersky’s 2025 AI travel survey.

Below, we answer the most common AI travel assistant questions we hear in 2026—and translate each into concrete actions agencies can take to earn citations and recommendations across ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, and Perplexity.

What itinerary requests do travelers ask AI?

Short answer: Requests cluster around “What should I do in [destination] for [X days/budget/season/persona]?” plus “best-of” lists for hotels, restaurants, and attractions.

For agencies: Build intent-specific pages that mirror how travelers naturally ask. Use conversational H2/H3 headings like “3 days in Kyoto for food lovers under $150/day” and supply entity-rich details: named attractions with geo, opening hours, reservation tips, and seasonality notes. Add machine-readable freshness (last updated, valid-through for events). Implement relevant Schema.org types such as Hotel, Restaurant, and TouristAttraction; include sameAs links to authoritative entity IDs (e.g., Wikipedia or Wikidata) to improve entity resolution. Well-structured content like this is easier for assistants to parse and cite, especially in systems that show sources (Perplexity) or surface link cards (ChatGPT with browsing).

Tip on “AI travel assistant questions” placement: Phrase subheads and captions using the same language travelers use so assistants can extract clear, snippet-friendly answers.

Which AI travel assistant questions trigger price tracking and deal alerts?

Short answer: Assistants summarize price trends and point to tools or features that watch hotel and flight fares; they prefer sources that expose clear prices, dates, and update cadences.

For agencies: Expose price and availability clearly and indicate update timing in both human copy and structured data (e.g., offers with priceCurrency, validFrom/validThrough). When referencing Google features, align with how travelers see them—Google has highlighted hotel price tracking and seasonal search help in product posts; see Google’s 2025 tips on AI Overviews and hotel price tracking for context. On your site, include concise “How to track prices” sections with steps and a one-sentence canonical answer above them so assistants can lift the summary.

Measurement note: In Perplexity, citations are visible within answers; earning those requires scannable price sections with dates and authoritative wording. In ChatGPT (with browsing), assistants often display the source link inline.

What booking and change‑management questions are common?

Short answer: Travelers ask how to cancel, rebook, or get refunds; what the deadlines and fees are; and which alternatives are available after a disruption.

For agencies: Centralize policy pages and keep them timestamped. Use structured summaries of key cutoffs (e.g., “Cancel by 6 p.m. local time to avoid one-night charge”) followed by deeper sections that link to official rules. For U.S. airport screening rules that affect carry-ons (liquids, medication), reference the Transportation Security Administration’s official page. For Europe-bound air travel, you can provide context on passenger rights without giving legal advice; many travelers search for “EU261 compensation,” so explain the concept in plain language and link to an official overview when appropriate.

Reference for U.S. screening: TSA’s Liquids Rule

How do safety, visas, and entry rules appear in AI assistants?

Short answer: Assistants tend to cite official sources for advisories and entry rules; they warn users to verify time-sensitive details that change frequently.

For agencies: Always cite and link to primary sources and include “last checked” timestamps. For U.S. travelers, point to the State Department advisories. For Europe, account for the Entry/Exit System (EES, live since late 2025) and the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), which the European Commission indicates is targeted to begin in the latter part of 2026; link to official pages, not secondaries. Many airlines verify requirements using IATA’s Timatic database, which is updated from official sources.

U.S. advisories: U.S. Department of State – Travel Advisories
EU travel systems timeline: European Commission – ETIAS overview and timeline
Airline-validated entry rules: IATA Timatic – Travel documentation

Add clear disclaimers: “Policies can change; verify with the official source on your travel date.” Assistants often echo that language and reward transparent provenance.

How do location and accessibility questions get answered?

Short answer: People ask whether a hotel is near a landmark, how walkable an area is, and which accessibility features are available (e.g., step-free access, roll-in showers, service animal policies).

For agencies: Use precise geo (latitude/longitude) and distances to major landmarks; keep Google Business Profile categories and attributes aligned with on-site details. In structured data, include amenityFeature for accessibility notes and petsAllowed where relevant. State distances in both miles and minutes on foot to help assistants answer succinctly. Add author credits (e.g., concierge validation) and timestamp checks for credibility.

Practical workflow example: monitoring AI visibility across engines

Short answer: Track whether your brand is cited or recommended in assistants, then iterate content and schema where you see gaps.

Disclosure: Geneo (Agency) is our product. For agencies monitoring AI citations, an AI visibility platform for agencies can be used to track mentions across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews and produce white‑label, client‑ready reports. Use visibility metrics like Share of Voice and AI Mentions to annotate content updates and see whether itinerary pages, policy summaries, or accessibility sections begin to surface more often. For working definitions of these metrics and methodology notes, see the documentation overview in Geneo docs on visibility concepts.

How to operationalize in 2026: Pick 10–15 high‑intent prompts (e.g., “3 days in Austin for families,” “best wheelchair‑accessible hotels near Louvre,” “how to rebook Lufthansa after cancellation”). Check monthly which pages get cited in Perplexity (visible inline) and when ChatGPT browsing links to you. Prioritize improvements where your competitors are cited instead of you.

Do assistants actually show citations—and how can we improve inclusion?

Short answer: Yes. Perplexity lists sources directly in answers; ChatGPT with browsing shows links inline; Google’s AI Overviews often summarize without explicit links but can surface site cards and references depending on the query.

For agencies: Make pages easy to cite. Use clear headings that match the “AI travel assistant questions” travelers ask, place a 1–2 sentence canonical answer near the top, and follow with concise, scannable detail. Keep claims verifiable with official-source links and visible timestamps. To understand Perplexity’s emphasis on source transparency, review its help explainer: How Perplexity works and cites sources.

Summary for 2026: Travelers lean on assistants for itineraries, deals, policy clarity, and accessibility details. Agencies that ship conversational, entity‑aligned pages with freshness signals—and that monitor citations across engines—win inclusion more often. Set cadences for volatile vs. evergreen topics, localize for key markets, and keep official-source links close to your canonical answers. Keep the loop tight: measure, improve, and re‑measure.