ChatGPT and Google Gemini emerged as the primary tools that users identified with for general travel planning, though the report highlights a shift in how trust is being placed rather than a simple popularity contest.

According to TakeUp CEO Bobby Marhamat, 2026 marks the year where travelers have moved from “experimenting” to “delegating,” and they are using a specific hierarchy of tools to build that trust.

The 2026 AI Trust Hierarchy

Travelers are increasingly using a “layered” approach to decide where to book:

• The “First Filter” (Most Trusted for Logic/Itineraries):
  • ChatGPT: Remains the most used for “natural” conversation and day-by-day scaffolding. It is the primary tool for travelers who want a “defensible” starting point.
  • Google Gemini: Highly trusted for its integration with real-time data from Google Flights and Google Hotels. Travelers value its ability to pull confirmations directly from Gmail and export plans to Google Sheets.
• The “Decision Layers” (Most Trusted for Proof):
  • Tripadvisor AI Trip Builder: Specifically cited for its “social proof.” The report found that 54% of travelers still cross-check AI recommendations on review platforms like Tripadvisor to ensure the AI isn’t “hallucinating” the quality of a hotel.
  • Perplexity: Used by a significant segment of researchers for its ability to provide citations, allowing travelers to see the “receipts” for why a specific destination or hotel was recommended.

Key Trust Statistics from the Report

• 94% of AI users trust these recommendations at least as much as traditional search engines.
• 25% of users now trust AI recommendations more than traditional online travel agencies (OTAs) because they perceive AI as being more objective than sites trying to push a specific sale.
• 84% of travelers stated that a recommendation from a “trusted AI” makes them significantly more likely to book a property, moving the needle from just “browsing” to “acting.”

Emerging Niche Tools

The report also noted a rise in specialized agents that focus on specific travel pain points:

• Layla AI: Trusted by younger travelers for its visual integration of video content and creator-led inspiration.
• GuideGeek: Favored for “on-the-go” planning via WhatsApp and Instagram, though noted to have lower trust for high-stakes, expensive bookings due to the difficulty of comparing multiple options in a chat thread.

Still, the specific “points of friction” the report mentioned still prevent 55% of non-users from trusting these tools.

In 2026, the major travel platforms are using two distinct “AI philosophies” to solve the trust and accuracy barriers that hold back skeptical travelers. Expedia has focused on building an “Action-Oriented Agent” to handle logistics, while Booking.com has doubled down on “Individualized Discovery” and visual verification.

Expedia vs. Booking.com: 2026 AI Solutions

Friction Point	Expedia’s Solution: “Romie”	Booking.com’s Solution: “AI Trip Planner”
Accuracy / Hallucination	Grounding in 70 Petabytes of Data: Expedia uses “Romie” to fact-check its own LLM against real-time API data. It doesn’t “guess” a price; it cross-references the AI’s suggestion with live inventory before showing it to you.	Verified Visuals & Smart Filters: Booking.com requires hosts to upload 10+ high-res images that the AI scans to verify amenities. If you ask for a “room with a mountain view,” the AI confirms the view exists via image metadata.
Real-Time Logistics	Proactive Disruption Management: If your flight is delayed, Romie doesn’t just tell you; it can automatically search for a new hotel or update your transfer without you having to re-prompt it.	Dynamic Price Comparison: Booking.com’s AI integrates a meta-search layer that allows you to compare its internal “Genius” rates against external partner rates in one chat window.
Personalization	Memory & Group Collaboration: Romie can be added to WhatsApp or iMessage group chats. It remembers that “Mom likes boutique hotels” and “Dad needs a gym,” synthesizing conflicting group needs into one plan.	The “Romantasy” Trend: Booking.com uses AI to match specific “aesthetics” (like “storybook stays” or “dark academia”). It focuses on the emotional “vibe” that skeptics often claim AI misses.
User Control	Transparent “Explainability”: Expedia includes an “explainability layer,” showing you why it recommended a hotel (e.g., “This fits your budget and is 90% likely to be quiet based on 5,000 reviews”).	Smart Messenger: For guest-host communication, the AI drafts replies, but Booking.com enforces a “human-in-the-loop” rule where the host must manually review the AI’s draft before it sends.