The report, The AI Surge: Travel’s Fastest Behavioral Shift in a Decade, indicates that 56% of travellers used AI for at least one trip over the past 12 months. This represents a significant increase from 43% in late 2025 and more than double the level recorded in 2024. Overall AI usage among travellers, beyond travel-specific applications, has reached 59%.
Pete Comeau, managing director of Phocuswright, stated: “AI has crossed the threshold from curiosity to utility. Travelers are past the point of experimenting now – they’re integrating AI into the core of how they research and shape their trips. This is a structural shift, and it’s happening faster than anything we’ve tracked in the past decade.”
The findings show that generative AI platforms such as ChatGPT and Gemini have reached 33% usage for trip research. This represents a fivefold increase since 2024 and places them close to traditional search engines, which currently account for 35% of usage. Despite this growth, travellers continue to validate AI-generated content. Only 8% of respondents said AI answers alone were sufficient, while 51% reported that they typically clicked through to source websites after receiving AI-generated results.
Mike Coletta, senior manager of research and innovation at Phocuswright, noted: “Half of travelers who used AI in search engines told us they still clicked through to source websites after seeing AI answers in search. This violates the common narrative of a zero click world. AI is definitely reducing clickthrough in search overall, but travel is much more resilient because it’s higher stakes and verification-heavy, especially in the transaction phase. Which helps explain why Google and the OTAs continue to report solid financial results.”
Standalone AI platforms remain the most widely used tools with 64% of AI users relying on them. Additionally, 81% of respondents identified these platforms as the most useful environment for AI-powered trip planning.
Adoption is accelerating across all age groups. Millennials lead usage at 74%, followed by Gen Z at 72%. Gen X travellers reported a 50% adoption rate, while baby boomers more than doubled their usage within six months, increasing from 13% to 27%.
The role of AI is also expanding beyond pre-trip planning. More than half of travellers, 51%, reported using AI for real-time recommendations once at their destination. Furthermore, 95% of respondents rated AI as helpful for in-destination activities, including navigation, understanding local areas and managing reservations.
The report’s release comes ahead of Phocuswright Europe, scheduled to take place in June. The conference will bring together stakeholders from across the travel, technology and investment sectors to examine the impact of AI on traveller expectations, supplier strategies and competitive dynamics.
Comeau added: “This is the fastest behavioral shift we have measured in well over a decade of tracking consumer travel behavior. At Phocuswright Europe, we’ll explore AI’s strongest role in travel today, which is reducing friction at the moments when travelers need context, comparison and confidence.”
