How many travelers use AI to plan their trips?

Almost half of air travelers have now asked an AI tool to help plan a trip. That's the headline from IATA's 2026 Global Passenger Survey, published this week, and it changes the first conversation many agencies have with a traveler.

What did IATA's 2026 survey find?

IATA surveyed more than 10,000 travelers in over 200 countries. Three findings stand out for agencies:

• AI planning is common. 49 percent have used AI for travel planning.
• Biometrics are spreading. 58 percent used biometrics somewhere in the airport journey in the past year, up from 50 percent in 2025.
• Entry rules hold people back. 43 percent were discouraged from visiting a destination by immigration requirements, up from 33 percent a year earlier.

What are travelers asking AI to do?

Mostly search and price comparison. The top uses were finding flights to a specific destination (21 percent), finding the cheapest flights (19 percent) and getting ideas for where to go (17 percent).

Use varies by region. In North America, 47 percent had used AI to plan. The Middle East led at 72 percent, and Europe was lowest at 35 percent.

What does this mean for an agency?

Travelers arrive further along. A leisure client may already have a shortlist of flights and a fare in mind. A corporate traveler may have checked options before opening a request.

That moves the advisor's value toward the parts AI handles poorly today. Think of the fare rules behind the price, or the help when something goes wrong. We think the agencies that win here are the ones whose advisors spend their hours on those conversations.

Airlines are moving too. IATA's Nick Careen said airlines need their offers to show up in AI results, with convenient links from an AI conversation to an actual booking. Expect more bookings to start somewhere other than your GDS screen, and plan for the reconciliation that follows.

Why do entry rules matter more this year?

Because complexity is putting people off. Of the travelers discouraged by immigration rules, 53 percent said the process was too complex, and privacy and cost were each named by 17 percent. In North America, 35 percent said entry rules had discouraged them.

That's a clear opening for agencies. Travelers who find visas and entry steps confusing value someone who can lay them out. IATA found 60 percent prefer to apply for a visa online, and 86 percent would share immigration information digitally before departure.

What do travelers think about their data?

They're willing, with conditions. 78 percent would share biometric data to skip showing documents at checkpoints, and 82 percent would share a digital passport with an airline after booking. Their worries are specific: 59 percent named data breaches and 49 percent named sharing with other organizations.

North American travelers had the highest biometric use, at 63 percent, and the strongest concern about breaches. For agencies, that's a reminder to answer data questions plainly, especially in corporate RFPs, where buyers now ask how traveler data is stored and who can see it.

What should agency leaders do now?

1. Ask how clients research. Add one question at intake about what the traveler has already looked at, and start from there.
2. Lead with the rules. Fare conditions, exchanges and entry requirements are where an advisor adds the most.
3. Free up advisor hours. Move the repeatable work after the booking off their desks, so they have time for the traveler.
4. Write down your data answer. Keep one page on where traveler data lives and who approves access. Have it ready for RFPs.

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