United Airlines Bans AI Agents From Booking Your Flights Ahead of the Holiday Rush
The carrier rewrote its contract of carriage to bar third-party AI assistants from making or changing reservations, citing account security and federal travel rules. Critics say it is also about keeping a new middleman out of the booking business.
By FRANK KOWALSKIBusiness & Economy · Nov 11, 6:39 PM
NEW YORK — United Airlines is shutting the door on artificial intelligence agents that book travel on a customer's behalf, a move that takes effect as the busiest flying season of the year approaches, CBS News reported.
The carrier said it is restricting access by AI agents on its own website and app and, indirectly, through travel agencies and booking sites, and is updating its booking and ticketing policies to match. The rule targets what United called "unauthorized, third-party personal AI agents or assistants," according to Scripps News.
United revised its contract of carriage, the legal fine print every passenger agrees to, on Nov. 11, according to the travel blog View from the Wing. The new language bars travelers from using AI agents to make, change or service tickets or to buy other United products, and it applies even when a person approves each step the agent takes. Another provision allows United to cancel reservations made that way.
That is a contractual ban rather than a technical one, View from the Wing's Gary Leff noted, and no outlet has described a technical block United is using to detect agents. InsideFlyer reported that United says it can identify where its bookings come from, although…
