AI has distributed itself throughout everyday life and has engraved its usage in travel. So much so we, as a generation, are now seeing it used for holiday bookings, poster design, itinerary gathering and recommendations. But just how accurate is this information?
Which?, the UK’s main products and service tester, put Tripadvisor’s AI summary to the test and the results showed conflicting results for consumers and its AI confidence.
The results showed Tripadvisor’s AI summary describe a five-star, all-inclusive, resort as ‘popular with many travellers’, with ‘spacious rooms’, ‘diverse restaurants’ that earn ‘rave reviews’ and cleanliness summarised as ‘spotless’.
However, recent guest reviews on Tripadvisor shared an entirely different perspective.
Recent guests reported ‘exceptionally poor hygiene’, ‘no basic cleaning or hygiene standards’ and food that was ‘awful, bland, unsafe and inedible’. One guest said she was served raw chicken; another shared photographs of flies and birds in the buffet food and another spotted ‘dead little roasted mice by the sitting area’ on her ‘nightmare’ holiday.
When Which? checked in March this year, there were 102 mentions of food poisoning at the resort. It also had 32 one and two-star reviews posted between December 2025 and April 2026 alone, 14 of which say at least one member of the party fell seriously ill with some form of food poisoning. Many were hospitalised, some flew home early and one guest died this year.
The hotel is now involved in a group legal action representing at least 412 holidaymakers who say they became ill after staying at the property, with seven deaths reported since 2023.
When Which? asked Tripadvisor about its AI summaries, it said it prioritises ‘transparency and impartiality’ and its summaries ‘surface a range of both positive and negative community feedback associated with listings’.
Tripadvisor also told Which? that AI chat assistant tool Ollie ‘draws from a selection of reviews based on detail and recency, and matches by language and context’, but it added that it is a ‘product in development’, and that it is now actively looking into several examples the consumer champion provided where reviews did not match.
Unfortunately this is not an isolated incident. Which? found several other properties, once again, that share different opinions from its AI summary to the realtime reviews left by consumers.
The confidence and real-life experience of a travel agent can not be mimicked, and this can be what makes your trip special. AI can not impersonate this.
AI may seem like the easy alternative for trip planning but a travel agent takes you on a journey long before you catch your flight. Take reassurance from your local advisor, enjoy recommendations they had personally enjoyed, know you are getting your value for money and the right product for you from a knowledgeable source.
That’s the importance of your local travel agent. That’s the importance of looking to the high street for a wealth of knowledge and a trip with no hidden factors.
AI shows progression in technology and, as we move further through the digital age, is sure to become even more pivotal in day-to-day life. But as seen from this study, real life experience and expert knowledge can not be replaced by that of a quick search. The importance of a travel agent continues to grow and becomes more evident as reassurance in technology remains questionable. One thing is certain, an overturn of trust from agent to computer will not happen as agents continue to learn and grow with the advancement of routes, and availability from Northern Ireland.
