Screenshot by Artie Beaty/ZDNET
ZDNET’s key takeaways
- You can now describe a trip to Google and get a full itinerary.
- Canvas will visualize your trip, including flights and hotels.
- Google also unveiled new flight tools.
If you’re the type of person who obsesses over every little detail of planning a trip, or you’re the type of person who gets so overwhelmed they can’t plan a trip, Google’s new AI tool might just be what you’re looking for.
In a recent blog post, Google revealed how you can use Canvas to plan your next trip, including hotels and flights. Just tell the AI where you’re going, Google says, along with a few details, and you’ll get a fully planned trip.
More than just a list of sights
To try out the new feature, I asked it to build an itinerary for a trip I took last fall — a five-day trip to New York City. I kept my request open-ended: “Help me plan a five-day trip to NYC focusing on historical sites and museums.”
Also: I let Google’s new AI tools take on my holiday shopping list – here’s how it went
After a few seconds, what I saw surprised me — an itinerary that looked strikingly close to what I had spent hours building last fall, including hotel recommendations. The sights included museums that I did indeed see, like The Met and the MOMA, things to do, like a walk over the Brooklyn Bridge, and a handful of restaurants I couldn’t miss. The number one hotel recommendation was the actual one I chose for my last trip.
What I found most impressive about the itinerary was that the AI went a step further than just telling me what to see. It recommended a week-long unlimited OMNY card and told me I didn’t need one of the popular sightseeing passes since many historic sites are free to visit. Everything listed included Google reviews and information like hours, admission prices, and other details.
You can find flights, too
The first time around, I didn’t ask Google to include flights, so I added the request. “I have researched flight options for your trip from Charlotte to New York City,” the AI responded. “I will now add a ‘Flights’ section to your itinerary with the best options I found and then regenerate the full plan for you.”
As the AI said, my itinerary now had a new tab for flights. The list included three options from major airlines, along with notes like “A major carrier with competitive nonstop service.”
Also: I let ChatGPT Atlas do my Walmart shopping for me – here’s how the AI browser agent did
Google noted that it’s expanding its AI-powered flight searching tool to let you find flights through a prompt — like describing where and when you want to travel. It seems likely these new flight capabilities will eventually make their way into the travel tool. Google also announced that it’s bringing AI Mode’s agentic mode, which can do things like book restaurants and buy tickets, to more people. This feature also seems like a natural fit for the travel tool.
What makes Canvas better than other options
The information Google’s AI compiled wasn’t exactly new. I can easily find flights and hotel recommendations on my own, and I got ChatGPT to build a pretty similar itinerary. But the difference was that everything was incredibly well organized through Canvas, and I could see Google reviews to make my decisions easier. I could also easily ask the AI to make changes like “focus on hotels near Times Square” or “focus on the most affordable hotels in the financial district.”
Also: Google’s AI mode agents can snag event tickets for you now – here’s how
I had actually paid for an itinerary-building app last fall, and I found that Google’s AI-enabled method did the same thing for free — and it was easier to update when I wanted to make changes.
To try the tool yourself, you’ll first need to make sure you opt in to AI Mode in Google Labs. If you’re opted in, go to AI Mode and describe the trip you want to plan. When you get your first response, choose “Create Canvas.”
