You want to book a trip.
So you ask your AI.
It promises the moon.
Prices, branded results, direct booking buttons right in the chat.
Sounds like magic.
Until you actually try it.
Skift did some testing. Found a snag.
Two actually.
First, you have to link the travel app to the chatbot. Big deal if you don’t know how. Second, the bot has to remember the link exists and decide to use it. That’s where the whole referral path often collapses.
In the ring?
Claude.
ChatGPT.
Claude, which calls these links connectors, actually got the memo. It surfaced travel apps and used them without much fuss. ChatGPT? Repeatedly bypassed the connected tools. Or denied they existed entirely.
“The bot initially said it could not use the connected travel apps.”
We checked the heavy hitters. Booking.com. Expedia. Viator.
We had linked them inside ChatGPT.
The bot said no.
Did we give up? No.
We pressed it. Eventually the apps worked. But only after we nagged the algorithm. Hard.
Why do major travel brands rush to join AI platforms? Exposure, probably.
What do users get?
Friction.
Disappointment.
A snapshot of where things stand right now. Not a final verdict.
So, is it time to plan your vacation through a bot yet?
