December 15, 2025, 6:21 pm | Read time: 4 minutes
The next trip should be affordable, relaxing, and well-planned–but you don’t know where to start? Artificial intelligence can help you find the perfect vacation spot more quickly and efficiently. However, to make the digital travel advisor truly useful, you need to know how to use it correctly.
Whether it’s a cheap flight to Istanbul or ideas for a tour of southern France, using artificial intelligence correctly not only saves time but often money as well. Instead of clicking through various websites, users can direct their questions to an AI chatbot. The following tips can help.
Overview
The Quality Depends on the Prompt
In addition to general tools like ChatGPT, there are specialized services such as “Guidegeek.com,” “Kayak.ai,” “Mindtrip.ai,” or “Usevacay.com” that focus on travel planning. Even if the websites are in English, communication usually works smoothly in German–the responses come back in German accordingly.
How helpful the chatbot’s answers are largely depends on how the request is phrased. The provider Kayak has published five helpful tips on how to get the most out of AI travel planning.
1. Precise Details Instead of Vague Wishes
The more precise the input, the more useful the result. An example: Instead of just writing, “Plan a trip to southern France for me,” you should be more specific. For instance:
“Help me plan a road trip through southern France. I’m interested in local cuisine and art, want to explore as many cities as possible, and avoid places with too many tourists.”
2. Set Boundaries and Guidelines
While traditional booking portals offer numerous filters, chatbots do without them, which many find pleasant. Nevertheless, users can express their wishes directly in the prompt. Kayak recommends, for example: “Find a boutique hotel in Berlin-Schöneberg with breakfast included, a bathtub in the room, and for under 200 euros per night.”
According to the Research Association for Vacation and Travel (FUR), 17 percent of Germans between 18 and 75 years old have already used AI for travel planning–an estimated more than ten million people. Another 21 million can imagine doing so in the future.
3. Retrieve Information Specifically
Even without a complete travel plan, AI can provide helpful information–such as on cheap flight times. A possible prompt: “During which period are flights to Tenerife particularly cheap?”–or: “Show me a table with price data for flights from Berlin to Istanbul by weekdays for August.”
4. Continue the Dialogue
One advantage of chatbots: They allow for real follow-up questions. For example, if a price table for flights is provided that includes connecting flights, even though you only want direct flights, a simple inquiry can help. Kayak advises not to be satisfied with the first answer but to ask follow-up questions.
5. Critically Examine Information
As helpful as AI is, it is not error-free. Therefore, it is important to critically question answers and use a search engine or other sources for important decisions. Kayak also warns against entering personal or sensitive data into chatbots. Finally, follow-up questions like “Why did you recommend this to me?” or “Why are flights particularly cheap during that period?” can also provide additional insights.
Not everything runs smoothly: About 16 percent of previous users complain about incorrect information, and 10 percent miss spontaneous discoveries or cultural depth. Nevertheless, the advantages such as time savings and better customization convince many. Travel providers, portals, and even travel agencies are increasingly relying on AI themselves, for example, for chatbots, complaint handling, or to support customer advice.
With material from dpa