AI is poised to make travel smoother, faster, and more personal than ever. But the way it manages this feat is by learning everything it can about us. If you think sharing your location with Google Maps feels invasive, consider that today’s AI grabs far more data—the digital equivalent of handing over your diary, not just your address.
Not long ago, we hesitated before letting apps like Google Maps access our location. The benefits were real: turn-by-turn navigation banished paper maps, and “find my hotel” could be a lifesaver after a long day in an unfamiliar city. For years, location sharing delivered real, immediate convenience.
But there was always a flip side. That same location data has targeted us with ads, been shared or sold behind our backs, and pinpointed our homes and offices to anyone mining the data. You trade some privacy for convenience and hope the companies treat your data with care—a hope often undercut by massive data breaches and the shoddy practices of data brokers and social networks renting out your data.
Now AI takes this trade-off to a whole new level. It’s not just about where you are anymore. Today’s AI tools for travelers are designed to use everything—your browsing history, what you like on social media, your shopping and search habits, loyalty programs, past hotel stays, reviews you’ve posted, your calendar, and even biometric data like fingerprints or face scans used at some airports.
The data sets don’t end there. New “always-listening” recording gadgets are being developed to track what you say throughout the day, promising to learn your preferences and act as an ultra-smart travel assistant.
With this avalanche of data, AI can do amazing things: book itineraries on your favorite airlines, reserve stays at your favorite hotels, rebook you instantly if your flight’s delayed, have a car waiting at the airport, and phone ahead to the hotel letting them know you’re on your way.
With all this data, companies can now use AI against us: set prices tailored to the individual—what airlines like Delta now call “surveillance pricing.” The algorithms analyze your profile, searching behavior, and purchase history to offer you what they think you’ll pay. The more the AI knows, the better it can maximize profits at your expense.
This trend is already spreading across the travel sector and other industries:
- Airlines & Travel Sites: Dynamic pricing reacts if you keep searching the same route, raising fares as intent increases. Companies like Expedia, Kayak, and airline websites use algorithms that track every click, elevating prices for those seen as “likely buyers.”
- E-commerce Retailers: Sites like Amazon change prices based on your buying behavior. If you always go premium, you’re less likely to see a sale; algorithms anticipate what you’ll pay.
- Ride-Sharing: Uber and Lyft adjust fares not just for general demand, but personalized surges. If you’ve accepted high fares in the past, you’re more likely to be shown them again.
- Hotels & Booking Sites: Pricing varies by the user’s location. A New Yorker booking a Tokyo hotel may see a much higher rate than someone searching from Bangkok. Your device matters too: Mac users often face steeper prices.
- Insurance: Auto and life insurers use real-time data feeds—whether it’s telematics from your car or wellness stats from your fitness tracker—to adjust premiums every month.
- Supermarkets: Dynamic pricing in supermarkets is a strategy where prices of items are adjusted in real time based on various factors such as demand, competition, inventory, time of day, and even the shopper. This approach is enabled by technologies like electronic shelf labels (ESLs), which allow for quick and frequent price changes.
The freewheeling use of our data is no longer about a simple trade-off for navigation—it’s about every click, word, and action feeding a system that decides what we’ll pay without us even knowing. And it makes much of this information available to the world, because it’s also being used to power their engines.
AI companies will be the last to worry about anything that slows them down as they rush forward developing their huge databases that soak up everything about everyone.
Next week I’ll give an example that might persuade you to share your email and calendar with a famous company because of the benefits it provides.
