Trip Planner Ai: AI Itineraries

This is Generative Phil, where I try new AI tools to solve one of my real problems and give it a rating between 1 - 10 Evil Robot Overlords (10, of course, being so essential it's a little scary).

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I'm currently at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.

Per usual now that I'm a father to a 3 and 4-year-old, I'm packing a lot into 2.5 days and then jetting out.

But I did have that moment where I considered bringing the whole family out two days early to experience the city.

Then the planning got in the way.

Am I going to have time to actually plan fun things to do before the convention, which is already insanely hectic?

Enter TripPlanner.ai, an AI tool that promises to build an itinerary using AI based on where you're traveling.

Let's get started.

PROBLEM

One of my favorite uses of AI is minimizing research time.

If I can just tell AI to find me the best stuff to do in a city instead of digging through endless Yelp pages and mostly-paid-for affiliate-forward review pages from CNET or CNN or any other list of publications with no expertise in travel, that would be a huge benefit.

PROCESS

NO REQUIRED LOGIN! SCORE!!!

Just had to tap a 'New Trip' button on the main page and I was good to go.

I'm guessing the Sign In exists so you can store trip data, but I'll decide if I want to do that post-review.

The first page couldn't be more simple. Because last weekend already passed, I'll pretend that I'm going to San Francisco with the whole family next weekend.

I pick San Fran, next weekend, Kid Friendly and Amusement parks, and a four person family then hit 'Create New Trip'.

It's 'Meals Preference' time!

They give me budget levels and estimates cost of breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

I choose 'mid budget' and it calculates that my daily spend for a family of four on food will be around $700 total (OUCH!)

It also allows me to pick whether we're vegan or vegetarian, which we certainly aren't (dino chicken nuggets are a staple in our household).

Now the good stuff! It selects hotels, which I assume is on an affiliate model since the site is free.

The top choice was 'Beresford Arms', which looks to be a great price, good location, and family-friendly. Looks like an excellent pick!

Clicking the hotel brings me to Booking.com, so I assume that's their affiliate partner.

I hit 'Build my trip' and a few seconds later...

RESULTS

The itinerary seems to be a perfectly pleasant few days in San Francisco!

There appear to be even more affiliate links for tickets, but I can't fault them for that.

However, it does make me wonder if these are the best choices or simply the most lucrative for the site.

Also, despite putting in a budget level for food, it did not work meals into my itinerary. This is hugely disappointing, as that's generally where I need the most help.

The suggestions were mostly about 'locations with lots of stuff in it' like parks and areas rather than specifics. I would have loved to get a bit more granular.

RATING

I love the simple interface and intention behind the product, but unfortunately, I was disappointed with the output.

I would have loved to see restaurant stops included and more specifics about what can be done at each location.

This is the start of a wonderful product, but needs a ton of refinement.

That's why I'm giving Trip Planner AI four Evil Robot Overlords out of ten. Promising, but not useful yet.

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And if you have pitches for what tech you'd like me to cover next, let me know in the comments.

About the Author

Phil Ranta, is an 18-year veteran of the creator economy as a creator, executive, investor, and advisor. A 2021 LinkedIn Top Voice in Innovation & Tech, Phil has been a diehard LinkedIn poster since he set up his account in 2007. He was the Head of Gaming Creators, North America at Facebook, the first network lead at Fullscreen, the COO at Studio71, and spent 10 years as a working comedian (including 2 years on cruise ships). He's a husband, a dad of two littles, and an insufferable digital media wonk.

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