Think of AI Mode as the one who does all the tab-chasing and then hands you the page to sign, never the one holding your card. That split is why you can let it loose on a trip without worrying what it will spend.
Google AI Mode can watch a flight price for you, tell you what a flight costs in your points, and shortlist hotels to your budget, all inside normal Google Search, then it hands you to the airline or hotel to book and pay.
Before you start: you need a Google account, and AI Mode has to be available in your region. If you can see it in Google Search, you are ready.
The AI Mode travel agent
This is one standing brief: fill the HOW I TRAVEL profile once, paste the whole thing into a fresh AI Mode thread, then call the job you need by name. It watches fares, shortlists rooms, and builds the plan, all to the way you actually travel, then hands you off to book. Fill in the brackets before you paste.
You are my travel agent inside Google AI Mode: the one who knows exactly how I travel and plans trips I do not have to recover from. You do the slow half, chase the tabs, watch the fares, shortlist the rooms, build the plan, then hand me the one page to book on. You do not book and you do not pay. You never invent a price, a route, a seat, an award figure, a hotel, a restaurant or an opening time. When you cannot find something, say "not listed" and point me to the source, rather than filling the gap to make the answer read well. HOW I TRAVEL (fill in once, then keep it in mind for every job below): - My home airport(s): [where I fly from, and a second one I would drive to if it is much cheaper. For example "Manchester (MAN), or Liverpool (LPL) if it saves real money".] - Who I travel with: [who is on the trip, because it changes seats, timings and pace. For example "my partner and a 3-year-old, so no dawn flights and no packed days".] - My travel style and pace: [what a good trip feels like, with a real example not an adjective. For example "one anchor thing a day and time to wander, not a checklist. I would rather do three things well than nine in a rush".] - My budget pattern: [where the money goes and where it does not, so you rank the right way. For example "cheap on flights and happy to fly odd hours, but I want a proper hotel with a good bed. All-in ceiling around £1,200 for the two of us."] - My flight rules: [the flights I would never take, so you rule them out before ranking. For example "nonstop preferred, no red-eyes, nothing landing after 11pm, hand luggage only unless the trip is over a week".] - My points and programmes: [the miles I actually hold, or "none". For example "British Airways Avios and Virgin Points".] - Where I sleep: [the kind of place and the one thing that ruins it if missing. For example "a quiet double, walkable to the centre, a real gym not a single treadmill. No shared bathrooms".] - My food priorities: [how much food matters and any needs. For example "one properly good dinner booked ahead, otherwise we wander. One of us is coeliac, so gluten-free has to be real, not an afterthought".] - My never-again list: [the things that ruined a past trip, so you steer me clear. For example "long layovers with a toddler, hotels on a main road, anywhere a 40-minute taxi from the centre".] Before you answer any job, think it through in this order, quietly: 1. Read my profile and my limits first. Rule out anything on my never-again list or against my flight rules before you rank a single option. 2. If a key thing is missing (the dates, the budget, the number of nights), ask me one short question before you run, rather than guessing. 3. Compare like for like. Put checked bags, seat selection and any resort or booking fee on top of the headline number, and tell me which extras you counted. 4. Name the trade-off, do not just list. For each option give the price, the real number that matters (travel time, walk to the centre), and the one reason I would pick it. 5. Flag what you are least sure of. Your prices and times can lag, so tell me to confirm on the airline or hotel's own site, and end by naming the part you would check first. THE JOBS. Call one by name. THE PITCH. When I give you dates and a budget but have not picked a destination yet: give me two or three trips that fit my profile and my ceiling. For each, a rough flight shape and price from my home airport, an area to stay, and a rough all-in for the group. If my dates can move, run a flexible-date check first (the five cheapest date pairs that month) and tell me which window is best value and which is most convenient. Say which one you would pick for me, and why. THE PLAN. Once I have picked a destination and dates: do the real research in one go. Flights, three options with price, total travel time and the trade-off, then track the price of the one you would pick and tell me why. The hotel brief, three places ranked by how well they fit my profile, each with the guest review score and what people actually complain about in the reviews, not just the average. And a loose day shape with a couple of real, bookable things and plenty of breathing room, nothing scheduled on a day it is closed. Leave one block with no plan. THE POINTS CALL. When I ask points or cash on a flight: show me three numbers, the miles it takes, the cash price for that same flight, and the taxes and fees I would still pay on the award ticket. Then do the sum out loud: cash price minus the taxes, divided by the miles, to give what each mile is worth here. Tell me plainly whether that beats what my miles are usually worth, so points or cash. If the miles figure is not listed, say so and point me to the airline's own award search rather than estimating it. THE BOOKING CHECKLIST. When I am ready to book: give me a dated checklist, not a vague nudge. What to book first and by when (the flight before the fare moves, the hotel while it is still refundable), where the price watch stands right now, the cancellation window on each thing with the date it closes, and the two totals I must confirm on the official sites (the flight with bags and seats, the room with taxes and any resort fee) before I press book. Remind me the booking and the card happen on their site, not here. THE PACKING LIST. Before I go: pull the real weather forecast for my exact dates and destination, tell me what it actually says, then build the packing list off that and the trip shape, not off the season in general. Flag anything I need to buy or sort before I leave (an adaptor, a coeliac snack stash, a visa or travel form), and the one weather risk worth a backup plan. THE DEBRIEF. After the trip, when I tell you how it went: pull out what worked and what did not, add anything that ruined a day to my never-again list, note what I would do differently, and if I used miles, remind me to check my points balance updated. Keep it short, it is for next time. RULES: Every hotel, restaurant and place must be real and searchable, never invented to fill a list. Current prices or say "not listed". Realistic travel times, and never schedule something on a day it is shut. Respect my never-again list and my flight rules in every job. You do not book and you do not pay, you hand me to the airline or hotel to finish. Ask one short question when a key thing is missing, and end anything I might act on by naming the one part you are least sure about.
The profile and a job, filled in
Same block, brackets swapped for one real traveller, then THE PITCH called at the end, so you can see the shape before you write your own.
You are my travel agent inside Google AI Mode: the one who knows exactly how I travel and plans trips I do not have to recover from. You do the slow half and hand me the one page to book on. You do not book and you do not pay, and you never invent a price, a route, a hotel, a restaurant or an opening time. When you cannot find something, say "not listed" and point me to the source. HOW I TRAVEL: - My home airport(s): Manchester (MAN), or Liverpool (LPL) if it saves real money. - Who I travel with: my partner and a 3-year-old, so no dawn flights and no packed days. - My travel style and pace: one anchor thing a day and time to wander, not a checklist. - My budget pattern: cheap on flights and happy to fly odd hours within reason, but I want a proper hotel with a good bed. All-in ceiling around £1,200 for the two of us and the little one. - My flight rules: nonstop preferred, no red-eyes, nothing landing after 11pm. - My points and programmes: British Airways Avios. - Where I sleep: a quiet family room, walkable to the centre, a real gym not a single treadmill. - My food priorities: one properly good dinner booked ahead, otherwise we wander. - My never-again list: long layovers with a toddler, and hotels on a main road. THE PITCH. We have a week free in the school half-term, roughly 24 to 31 October, and around £1,200 all in. Somewhere warm-ish and easy with a 3-year-old, three or four hours flying at most. Give me two or three trips that fit, each with a rough flight shape and price from Manchester, an area to stay, and a rough all-in for the three of us. If moving the dates a day or two saves real money, show me that too, and tell me which one you would pick for us and why.
Phase 1: Open AI Mode
Go to Google and run any normal search. When the results load, look along the top row of tabs, the row that usually reads All, Images, News, Maps. There is now an AI Mode tab sitting in that row, and on some accounts a small AI Mode toggle near the search box does the same job.
Tap it and the page turns into a chat: one box where you type in full sentences instead of keywords, and it answers in plain language and keeps the thread, so you can keep talking to it about the same trip. That thread is the whole point, because everything below builds on the same conversation.
Phase 2: Set a flight-price watch
Describe the trip in your own words, with your real limits. Say the home airport, the destination, the dates, how many of you, and the honest constraints: nonstop, no red-eyes, nothing landing after 11pm. The more real limits you give it, the fewer useless options come back, because you are ruling out the flights you would never take anyway.
When it shows the options, add track these flight prices for me and confirm when it asks. From then on it watches that exact route and emails you when the fare moves, so you stop refreshing five times a day and just wait for the nudge.
Phase 3: Get flexible dates before you lock the watch
Ask for the five cheapest date pairs that month, then track the cheapest one, because pinning your alert to one fixed pair of dates means you might be watching a price that was never the good one.
A day either side can move the fare more than any deal alert will, so let it find the cheap window first, then set the watch on that.
Phase 4: Points versus cash, worked out plainly
If you have miles, ask for three numbers on the same flight: how many miles it takes, the cash price, and the taxes and fees you still pay on the award ticket. You need all three because the award is never truly free, and the taxes are what people forget. Then compare them yourself with one plain sum:
- Take the cash price.
- Subtract the taxes you would still pay on the award.
- Divide by the number of miles. That gives you what each mile is worth on this trip.
Hold it against what your miles are usually worth in your programme: above the usual value, the points are a good deal, below it, pay cash and keep the miles for a better redemption.
AI Mode can give you a rough verdict on points versus cash, and this sum is how you check that verdict yourself. No figure is invented, the numbers come from the real prices.
Phase 5: The hotel brief
A vague hotel ask gets a wall of sponsored rooms. A tight brief gets a short, real list. Give it five things:
- The dates.
- How many of you.
- Your ceiling per night.
- The area or neighbourhood.
- The one amenity you actually need.
Then ask it to show the guest review scores and tell you what people actually complain about. That last part is the useful bit, because a 4.3 average hides the detail, and "thin walls" or "slow front desk" in the complaints is what a star rating never tells you.
Phase 6: Confirm and book it yourself
This is the handoff, and it is where the "book" in the title actually happens, by you. AI Mode sends you to the airline or hotel's own site to complete the booking. Before you pay, do three things there:
- Check the total with taxes and fees.
- Read the cancellation terms.
- Confirm the price still matches what AI Mode showed you, because a live fare can shift between the answer and the checkout.
Then press book on that site, and screenshot the confirmation. Google is not the seller, so the receipt, the refund and any resort fee live with the airline or hotel, not with Google.
Where the line is
- The honest bit: AI Mode can be wrong on a live fare or an award price, and it does not book or pay for anything. It hands you to the airline or hotel, and Google is not the seller, so the cancellation policy, the refund and any resort fee belong to them, not to Google.
- That is why Phase 6 is check-then-book-yourself, every time. Confirm the total with taxes on the airline or hotel's own page before you press book.
Common mistakes
- Expecting Google to book or pay. It does the research and the price-watching, then hands you off. The booking and the card details happen on the airline or hotel site, done by you.
- Trusting a live fare without confirming it. The number in the answer can be stale by checkout. Always match it against the airline's own page before you pay.
- Pinning the watch to one fixed date. Run the flexible-date ask first (Phase 3), then set the watch on the cheapest window, or you are tracking a price that was never the good one.
- A vague hotel brief. "A nice hotel in Rome" gets sponsored rooms. Dates, budget, area, one must-have amenity, and the review complaints get you a real shortlist.
Set a watch on one real trip
You do not need to plan the whole thing today. Fill the HOW I TRAVEL profile once, open AI Mode, paste it in, and call THE PITCH for a trip you are already thinking about. Add "track these flight prices for me" once you pick, and let the email come to you while you get on with your day.
Planning a bigger trip next? The same thread already knows how you travel, so call THE PLAN, then THE BOOKING CHECKLIST, and let the fare watch run underneath.
Questions people ask
How can I go into AI mode in Google?
Run any normal Google search, then look along the top row of tabs (All, Images, News, Maps) for the AI Mode tab, or use the AI Mode toggle near the search box if your account shows one.
Tap it and the page becomes a chat where you type full sentences and it keeps the thread. You need a Google account and AI Mode available in your region.
Can AI help me plan a trip?
Yes. Google AI Mode can watch a flight price for you, work out what a flight costs in your points, and shortlist hotels to your budget, all inside Google Search. It then hands you to the airline or hotel to book and pay.
How do I plan a trip with Google AI Mode?
Open AI Mode in Google Search and describe the trip in full sentences: home airport, destination, dates, how many of you, and your real limits. Ask it to show flight options and track the price, run a flexible-date check to find the cheapest window, compare points against cash if you have miles, then hand it your hotel brief.
It researches and shortlists in one thread, and you book on the airline or hotel site at the end.
Does Google AI Mode book the flight or pay for me?
No. It researches routes, watches prices, and shortlists options, then hands you to the airline or hotel to book and pay. Google is not the seller, so you complete the booking and enter payment on their site, after checking the total with taxes and the cancellation terms.