United Airlines said on Nov. 11 that it will block unauthorized third-party AI agents from booking or managing travel on its website and app, and through the travel agencies and aggregators that sell its flights. The airline cited data security and federal rules, and said agent bookings made before Nov. 11 will not be canceled.
On a help page explaining the policy, United said that if an AI agent, bot, browser extension or browser feature "searches, books, buys, manages or collects information on united.com or the United app for you, and United hasn't given permission, it's unauthorized." Travelers can still use AI to research and plan trips as long as the tool does not touch United's site or app, according to the page. Assistive technology for customers with disabilities is not affected.
The airline's reasons
United said that sharing account credentials with personal AI assistants "can expose sensitive information," and that actions taken by those tools could lead to unintended purchases or the use of MileagePlus miles, CBS News reported.
The carrier also said agent use could run afoul of Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration rules. As an example, it said only a human can acknowledge at check-in that a bag contains no explosives, Engadget reported.
The policy goes further than a site block.
United's updated website terms define an "Automated Agent" as any software, including a feature built into a browser, that takes "autonomous or semi-autonomous action, whether or not a person supervises or approves its actions." The terms bar anyone from using United's fares and schedules to train, fine-tune, ground or evaluate an AI model. Travel agencies may use their own AI tools only with United's permission, according to the help page.
Control of the customer
Henry Harteveldt, an aviation analyst at Atmosphere Research Group, read the move as a fight over who owns the booking. "United is saying they don't want to add yet another, and potentially even more powerful, intermediary," he told CBS News. He added that flight searches cost airlines money and that United likely wants to avoid the expense of a surge in AI bot searches.
Engadget, citing The Wall Street Journal, reported that United CEO Scott Kirby said at an event on Tuesday, "To be honest, I don't want to create another middleman."
Harteveldt said United fares will still be bookable through aggregators such as Kayak and Google Flights. "But by blocking the AI bots, United won't make it any easier to find its fares, either," he said.
A split across industries
CNBC reported that Amazon has blocked Meta's agent Muse while Walmart has partnered with it, and that Expedia and Booking are working with OpenAI. Engadget listed JPMorgan Chase among businesses that block agents.
Southwest has taken the opposite approach and made its flight inventory viewable to ChatGPT users, according to CBS News.
The decision came a day after two Andreessen Horowitz partners argued in a Nov. 10 essay that businesses will have to compete for agents as customers. The essay cited an eightfold rise in agentic browser traffic between August and October, as measured by Human Security.
Consumer use of agents for purchases still looks small in some markets. Engadget noted that Uber said on its third-quarter earnings call that of 320 million trips and deliveries in the week of Halloween, AI agents accounted for 500 Uber Eats orders and four rides.
United said on its help page that before letting agents transact, it wants "standardized, secure technology integrations with privacy, security, authorization and accountability protections in place." The airline said agents may get a sanctioned route later, but it has not announced one.
Source: United Airlines, “Unauthorized third-party AI agents or assistants”
Additional sources: United Airlines, “Terms, Conditions and Legal Notices for United.com”; CBS News, “United Airlines bans AI agents from booking flights on behalf of travelers”; CNBC, “United Airlines moves to block AI agents from its platform over security concerns”; Andreessen Horowitz, “Welcome to the B2A Economy”; Engadget, “United Is Restricting AI Agents From Booking Flights”
