AUSTIN — New research shows that AI travel booking agents frequently route reservations through third-party intermediaries, rather than direct to the supplier.

The study also shows that many travellers remain hesitant to hand over control to an AI agent for the actual travel purchase.

The findings come from travel marketing company Propellic’s new study, Agentic Travel Booking in Muse and Instinct, looking at how the two AI agents handle travel searches and bookings. 

Both Muse and Instinct now have functionality to book travel end to end, from a text message to a confirmation email. Muse is Meta’s personal AI agent, while Instinct is an invite-only AI agent accessed through text messages.

Says Propellic: “Meta’s Muse and Instinct now run the whole booking process. They find the hotel, pick the rate and stop on one button: ‘Book Now.’ What happens after that button is the part nobody in travel can see.

The company spent three weeks scrutinizing the process, with 176 scripted booking requests through both agents, a survey of hundreds of recent Muse and Instinct users, and 22 sessions sitting beside people while they booked.

As Propellic puts it, “AI agents are booking trips. Who is profiting from the transactions?”

THE RESULTS

In 57% of the flight booking audit runs, reservations would have gone through Duffel, the booking API behind Muse and Instinct, even when users specifically named an airline.

Only 28% of the audited bookings would have gone directly to the airline, hotel or tour operator, while another 14% would have gone through booking platforms like Booking.com and Expedia.

“Earlier this year, we found that AI was recommending direct booking options in 71% of results, with travellers handing AI the research but keeping control of the payment,” said Brennen Bliss, CEO, Propellic.

“Now AI agents can take bookings all the way to checkout, but more than half the time, those bookings would go through an intermediary. Agentic AI platforms have swung the pendulum back towards the traditional travel supply chain, adding a new layer in the middle.”

Propellic noted that Duffel has been named as a booking partner for these agents, “so this is not necessarily a surprise, but inevitably it’s a land grab for the commercial contracts to facilitate these bookings.”

Duffel is an NDC platform acting as one API into hundreds of airlines plus the payment underneath, said Propellic, describing Duffel as an intermediary functioning similarly to the GDS.

“The AI agents are reaching for the easiest and most profitable rails to settle a booking on, which may pull the industry back toward traditional distribution, as some predicted,” said the company.

TRAVELLERS STILL WANT CONTROL

Propellic’s research also suggests that travellers aren’t necessarily ready to let AI handle the entire booking process.

According to the data, 66% of real conversations stopped at the research or shortlist stage. Even when an AI agent reached the payment approval step, around half of users stepped in to review details such as seating, baggage allowances and cancellation policies before completing the booking themselves.

When asked about an actual trip, 36% of interviewees said they would allow an AI agent to make the payment. 

Another 36% said they would consider it under certain conditions, such as a refundable reservation or a low-value purchase.

The findings are part of Propellic’s third study examining AI in travel, following research published in 2025 and earlier in 2026. More info and a download link can be found here.