You see, over the past few months, I’ve been using AI to help me – mainly ChatGPT and BingAI – both of which are free and easily available. And I’ve got to tell you, the results have been quite poor.

But they will improve in the future, and for the next five, perhaps even 10 years, I believe these tools will be of increasing benefit to the agent. More so than to the customer, in fact.

We’ve been here before, of course. The web was going to replace agents, remember? Customers would be able to research destinations themselves, search for the flights and accommodation, and put their own packages together. Why would they ever need us again?

So, several decades later, why am I having my busiest year after 25 years in the travel industry? And why has the homeworking agency I work in partnership with, The Personal Travel Agents at Your Co-op, broken sales records every month of this year so far?

Yes, there is a lot of pent-up demand. But fundamentally the public trust us, they trust our brand and they feel safe with us. And here’s the magic sauce – we are better than the customer at using the web for finding and putting together holidays. I also believe we will be better than them at using AI to research, plan and book their holidays for the foreseeable future.

At the same time, we need to become masters of AI. We need to know the threat it poses our businesses. And we need to be able to use it our best advantage. This will come naturally as we start to use it day in, day out.

So here are some of my experiences using AI.

I recently looked for a hotel in Palma City with a kids’ club. The results were rubbish. BingAI suggested a hotel in Playa de Palma and another in Alcudia, as well as a five-star option in Palma which didn’t have a kids’ club (I emailed to check – nothing gets past an agent!).

More positively, I had a customer who wanted a hotel in Lanzarote with a creche. Jet2holidays help a bit here, I can filter by hotels with creches once I’ve searched by destination, but I couldn’t do this with the other major operators, Tui and easyJet holidays.

I then turned to BingAI and ChatGPT – Bing found me two hotels, and ChatGPT four, whereas Jet2holidays found me five. I ended up booking one which both ChatGPT and Jet2 offered. One of the reasons I picked this particular hotel was because it had solid reviews on TripAdvisor and Google – and I can tell the fake reviews from the real ones. Could AI do that?

My customer could have easily conducted this research themselves. They may have already used AI, or simply used Google. So, why did they turn to me? Because it’s easier. They can rely on me to find something that meets their needs and their budget, and isn’t half-built.

I can tie it up with their flight times, book their seats and suggest the best transfer options, and present all this clearly so they can make a choice. And I do all that while being chatty, happy and respectful, with the client in the full knowledge that I’m at the end of the line if they need me.

Think about cruising – could AI choose the right cruise for a customer? I know which of my cruise customers would love the Virgin Voyages vibe, and those who’d faint if a drag queen tried to serve them a cocktail!

I’ve attended Clia events, been on ship visits and cruised myself. I’ve soaked up the atmosphere, I have stories to tell of those “wow” moments, and I’ve learned the tips and tricks and made the contacts to ensure my clients can make the most of their cruise. They’re as much buying me as they are the product.

So agents, don’t be scared of AI. Start using it soon as you can to your benefit. For example, as ChatGPT why it should recommend a particular operator, cruise line or resort. More often than not, you’ll get seven or eight bullet points you can use to help you present the quote. I often send my clients an edited (and fact-checked!) version of this with my own email by way of comparison, and they love it.

Moreover, find a way to use AI to create a unique proposition. Be an early adopter, as they say, and then write an article for TTG in a few years’ time about how you used AI to double your business. I can’t wait to read it!

Matthew Ruth is a Co-operative Travel personal travel agent, based in Manchester. He’s been a member of the PTAs for more than 10 years, and has 30 years’ travel industry experience. He specialises in mass-market beach holidays, but also sells river cruise, city breaks and tours, and revels in finding his clients good deals and hidden bargains.