More and more travel companies are incorporating AI into their platforms to offer personalized trip planning, and Google is the latest to expand its capabilities.
Luma Hamade, a Google Trends expert, says the platform — which is free — can be used to plan an entire itinerary, help travelers translate languages for international trips, and track the best prices for flights and hotels.
"Google has truly become like a travel concierge in your pocket," Hamade said.
She says travelers do not need to have a specific destination or hotel in mind to get started.
"You don't even have to start with a specific hotel in mind. Let's say you want to go to Mexico City, which is a really top-trending international destination for this summer. You can start with those searches, and it'll help you find a few hotels to track," Hamade said.
But as AI-powered travel planning grows in popularity, experts warn that scammers are keeping pace.
Corey Snyder, a spokesperson for the Better Business Bureau, says the organization has seen an increase in customer service scams targeting travelers.
"So that's scammers that are impersonating customer service agents or the customer service departments of legitimate vacation, rental companies like hotels themselves and then charging a fee or working to get personal information," Snyder said.
According to McAfee research, 1 in 3 travelers have faced a travel scam. Recent data shows 41 percent of travelers trusted a message that appeared to come from airlines or hotels without verifying it.
Snyder says travelers should be suspicious of unsolicited phone calls from airlines, hotels, or vacation rental companies. He recommends getting the name of the person you are speaking with and verifying any phone number or email address they provide.
"Never provide information up front. If they're asking for money up front, that's always a red flag you know to be cautious of," Snyder said.
He says staying alert is worth the extra effort.
"You are excited to go on vacation but double-checking and making sure that you're giving the right money to the right people is always the best thing to do," Snyder said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
