Travelers use AI to narrow options, then turn to search, official websites, reviews and pricing before they act.
NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / September 16, 2026 / Artificial intelligence is becoming a meaningful starting point for travel planning, but travelers are still checking what it tells them before they act.
New proprietary research from Mower finds that among U.S. leisure travelers ages 18-64 who use AI at least occasionally, 28% say they would be most likely to start planning their next leisure trip with an AI tool – close behind Google search at 30%.
After receiving an AI travel recommendation, 59% search Google, 49% visit the official website, 40% compare prices across multiple sites and 20% ask another AI tool the same question. Only 5% say they book exactly what AI suggested.
The findings are featured in Mower’s new whitepaper, titled “AI Starts the Trip. Trust Closes It.” The report examines a new trust-and-verification dynamic in travel planning: how travelers use AI to discover and narrow options, then turn to familiar sources to validate those recommendations before making a decision.
“AI is becoming an important part of travel discovery, but being recommended isn’t the same as being chosen,” said Trish Nugent, Senior Vice President, Head of Public Relations & Public Affairs at Mower. “For marketers, that puts fresh pressure on the channels that can both help inform AI recommendations and help travelers validate them. Search, websites, reviews and social increasingly matter on both sides of the decision.”
Travelers Trust AI to Recommend, Not Decide
Among the AI-using travelers surveyed, 86% have used an AI tool specifically to help plan a trip, and among those users, 97% say AI influenced at least some part of their most recent leisure trip.
Travelers are most comfortable using AI when it helps them explore rather than commit. More than half have used AI to find restaurants, attractions and local experiences, and travelers express the greatest confidence in AI for finding attractions and activities and recommending restaurants.
That confidence falls as the financial or emotional stakes rise.
Only 28% mostly or completely trust AI to book a flight on their behalf, while 29% say the same about booking a hotel. Nearly half would feel comfortable relying heavily on AI to plan a road trip, compared with just 14% for a luxury vacation costing $5,000 or more and 11% for a honeymoon.
The largest group of respondents – 34% – describes its relationship with AI this way: “I trust AI, but only after I verify its recommendations.”
Heavy AI Use Does Not Mean Less Scrutiny
The research also found that some of the most AI-receptive travelers are among the most active verifiers.
Parents of children under 18 are more likely than travelers without children at home to begin their next trip with AI, 33% versus 24%, and are more likely to use it to compare destinations (46% vs. 33%) and plan around specific interests such as family, food or outdoor activities (45% vs. 35%).
Yet parents are also more likely to check what AI tells them. After receiving a recommendation, 55% visit an official website compared with 45% of travelers without children at home; 44% compare prices across travel sites versus 36%; and 24% ask another AI tool the same question versus 17%.
What Travel Brands Need to Get Right
Mower’s research suggests AI is not replacing the sources travelers have traditionally relied on. Instead, it is changing when these sources enter the decision process, creating a new discovery-and-verification journey for travel marketers across categories.
The whitepaper identifies two priorities for travel brands:
Get into the answer. Make it easier for AI to find clear, current and specific information about a brand and understand when it is relevant to a traveler’s needs.
Pass the fact-check. Keep websites, pricing, listings and other brand information accurate and current so travelers can verify AI recommendations and resolve discrepancies before booking.
The report also examines how the opportunity shifts across destinations and attractions, hotels and resorts, restaurants, airlines and tour operators, and offers five practical questions travel marketers can use to assess their own path from AI recommendation to final decision.
“The mistake would be to assume AI makes everything else in the travel decision process less important,” Nugent said. “Our research suggests the opposite: when AI introduces the brand, every source travelers use next becomes part of the proof.”
About the Research
Mower conducted a national online survey of 1,000 U.S. leisure travelers ages 18-64 who had personally helped plan or book a leisure trip in the previous 12 months and who use AI tools at least occasionally. The survey was fielded July 7, 2026, through the Pollfish online panel.
Supplemental analyses examined differences by generation and household composition. Generational comparisons used FDR-adjusted significance testing at p ≤ 0.05.
Because the survey intentionally sampled people who use AI at least occasionally, the findings reflect how AI-using leisure travelers are incorporating AI into travel planning rather than the prevalence of AI adoption among all U.S. travelers.
To download “AI Starts the Trip. Trust Closes It.” and view the full findings, visit www.mower.com/ai-starts-the-trip-trust-closes-it.
About Mower
Mower is a 100% employee-owned, Women’s Business Enterprise National Council-certified, digitally integrated independent marketing, advertising and public relations agency. Mower has professional staff in 18 cities throughout the U.S. With the mission of Making Fierce Friends® between brands, customers and stakeholders, Mower delivers strategic insights and counsel, digital solutions, smart creative and award-winning results to clients in a wide range of industries and service sectors, including B2B, Energy & Sustainability, Healthcare, Financial Services and Travel & Tourism. It has earned top industry accolades from Clio, Cannes and ANA B2 awards and is the only full-service independent agency ranked in Ad Age, B2B Marketing, PRWeek and Chief Marketer. Mower is part of two global agency networks – thenetworkone and IPREX – as well as the 4A’s.
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Media Contact:
Julie Thomas
Mower
212-980-9064
jthomas@mower.com
SOURCE: Mower
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