United Airlines bans AI agents from booking flights for travelers

United Airlines has banned artificial intelligence agents from making flight reservations on behalf of travelers. According to the report, the airline points to security risks and the possibility that such actions could break federal rules.

To arrange a flight, an AI agent needs access to a customer's personal information, including payment details. United says sharing that data with third-party personal assistants can expose sensitive information. In its view, actions taken by these tools may lead to unintended purchases, account changes or use of MileagePlus miles.

The carrier also says an agent checking in for a flight could be a problem. As the article notes, federal regulations require travelers to verify in person that their luggage contains no banned substances, and handing that task to software may breach the requirement.

United said it will restrict access both directly on its digital platforms and indirectly through travel agencies and aggregators, and that it is updating its booking and ticketing policies accordingly. Aviation analyst Henry Harteveldt told CBS News that the company wants to keep control of the booking process. He says United does not want another, potentially more powerful intermediary on top of Google search, price-comparison sites and online travel agencies. Harteveldt adds that flight searches cost airlines money, and bot-driven searches could raise that expense.

For travelers, little changes in practice: United fares will still be bookable through sites such as Kayak, Hopper and Google Flights. But according to Harteveldt, blocking the AI bots will not make the airline's fares any easier to find. Southwest is taking a different route, making its flight inventory viewable to ChatGPT users.