In Brief: U.S. leisure travelers increasingly use AI tools to find destinations, restaurants and activities, but most still rely on search engines, official websites, reviews and price comparisons before booking, according to a survey released by Mower.
AI Use in Travel Planning
Artificial intelligence is becoming a common entry point for travel planning among U.S. leisure travelers who already use AI tools. The survey found that 28% of respondents said they would be most likely to begin planning their next leisure trip with an AI tool, close to the 30% who selected Google search.
Among respondents who use AI, 86% said they had used an AI tool specifically to plan a trip. Of those travelers, 97% said AI influenced at least one part of their most recent leisure trip.
Travelers Seek Confirmation After AI Recommendations
After receiving an AI travel recommendation, 59% of respondents said they search Google, while 49% visit an official website. Another 40% compare prices across multiple sites, and 20% ask a different AI tool the same question.
Only 5% said they book exactly what an AI tool recommends without taking other steps.
Confidence Declines for Costly or Personal Trips
Travelers expressed greater comfort using AI for planning tasks such as finding restaurants, attractions and local experiences. More than half of respondents said they had used AI for those purposes. Respondents reported the highest confidence in AI for identifying activities and recommending restaurants.
Confidence was lower when AI was asked to make bookings or plan trips with higher financial or personal significance. Only 28% said they mostly or completely trust AI to book a flight on their behalf. For hotel bookings, the comparable figure was 29%.
Nearly half of respondents said they would be comfortable relying heavily on AI to plan a road trip. However, only 14% said they would be comfortable doing so for a luxury vacation costing $5,000 or more. The figure was 11% for honeymoon planning.
The largest group of respondents, 34%, said they trust AI only after verifying its recommendations.
Parents Combine Higher AI Use With More Verification
Parents of children under 18 were more likely than travelers without children at home to start travel planning with AI. Thirty-three percent of parents selected AI as their preferred starting point, compared with 24% of respondents without children at home.
Parents were also more likely to use AI to compare destinations and plan trips around interests such as family activities, food or outdoor recreation. After an AI recommendation, 55% of parents said they visit an official website, compared with 45% of travelers without children at home. Forty-four percent compare prices across travel sites, versus 36% of non-parents.
Survey Methodology and Limitations
Mower surveyed 1,000 U.S. leisure travelers ages 18 to 64 who had helped plan or book a leisure trip during the previous 12 months. All respondents used AI tools at least occasionally. The online survey was conducted from July 7, 2026, through the Pollfish panel.
Because the survey was limited to people who already use AI at least occasionally, its findings describe how AI users incorporate the technology into travel planning. They do not measure AI adoption across all U.S. travelers.
