Search Slips, AI Surges: Travel’s New Front Door?

Summary

Generative AI is fast becoming travel’s new front door. Nearly 40% of U.S. travelers used gen AI tools to plan trips in 2025, an 11-point jump in just one year. Millennials lead the charge, employing AI to cut through information overload while still turning to friends, family and reviews for final validation. Overall, differences persist between demographic groups: Travelers who use AI are younger, wealthier and more frequent travelers who spend significantly more and rely on both digital and human touchpoints. As AI gains ground on traditional search, its influence on traveler decisions from destination choice to booking signals significant shift in how inspiration and intent converge.

Phocuswright’s Search Slips, AI Surges: Travel’s New Front Door? is part of a comprehensive consumer research study examining how U.S. travelers integrate generative AI into trip planning and booking, reshaping the way they search, decide and spend.

Key questions addressed include:

• How rapidly is AI adoption expanding among U.S. travelers, and which demographic segments are driving it?
• How is generative AI affecting traditional search, review sites and other trip-planning tools?
• What defines the emerging “AI traveler” and what are their demographics, spending habits and decision-making processes?
• How much trust do travelers place in AI-generated results, and where do human input and authenticity still hold sway?