I Asked AI to Help Me Travel More Sustainably. Here's What Happened

CNET

2 days ago

Growing up, we didn't travel much, especially not internationally. Even as a child, though, I knew I wanted to travel when I got older and could do things for myself. The kid who would wistfully spin and spin and spin a toy globe in my room is now an adult who can book trips as much as my schedule and budget will allow. There is a caveat, though.
Growing up also means that I'm now cognizant of the environmental cost of traveling. Defying gravity is incredible and all, but it puts a damper on that dream vacation knowing that my trip is contributing to climate change and that the aviation industry accounts for 2.5% of all global carbon dioxide emissions.
In a world where we're all thinking a little more about our carbon footprints, yet are also dreaming about that next far-away adventure we see on our phone screens, I wondered: Can tech -- and more specifically, AI -- help us travel more sustainably?
To find out, I did what any curious digital native would do: I put this idea to the test.
I turned to AI chatbots, specifically two of the biggest names in artificial intelligence: ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot. My mission was to plan two very different vacations that would minimize my environmental guilt while still delivering on adventure, food and cultural enrichment. Here's how it went.
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A quick note: While AI can help you plan more sustainable trips, the tools themselves aren't exactly eco-neutral. Behind every chatbot response is a data center running thousands of servers, machines that require vast amounts of electricity and cooling water to operate. In fact, research suggests that generative AI tools like ChatGPT can use several liters of water per conversation, depending on the complexity of your queries. That water is typically used to cool the servers during processing. Microsoft, for instance, has reported a 34% year-over-year increase in water consumption, partially due to its AI investments.
So while AI could be used to explore eco-friendly travel itineraries, it also has a lasting environmental impact of its own. Like with all tech, sustainable use comes down to moderation and transparency.
The setup: Two trips, one goal
For the experiment, I designed two different travel scenarios and let the chatbots plan the itineraries from there.
Trip 1: A week and a half in Seoul, South Korea, flying from Tampa, Florida (where I live). My goals include hiking, art, food and seeing all the major historical monuments, with a budget of $2,000 to $3,000.
ChatGPT asked me to specify some travel details, then created an itinerary from there.
Macy Meyer/CNET
Trip 2: A wild card. I gave the AI chatbots full creative control to plan the most sustainable tropical vacation possible.
In both cases, I used ChatGPT and Copilot side by side to compare results.
The Seoul search: Sustainability in the capital city
I started with the Seoul trip. I was actually supposed to move to Korea post-grad to teach English as a foreign language, but that didn't work out, thanks to COVID-19. I still haven't made it to Korea, so it's at the tippy-top of my bucket list.
Both bots quickly recognized South Korea as a fascinating mix of ancient tradition and high-tech innovation. When I asked how to make my trip eco-friendly, they took two different approaches.
ChatGPT gave me a detailed itinerary, including direct flight suggestions, budget breakdowns, eco-lodging in walkable neighborhoods like Insadong and Hongdae and sustainable food recommendations, such as local markets and temple cuisine. It also factored in transit cards and local carbon offset programs.
Copilot gave me more surface-level results. It recommended looking into eco-certified hotels or guesthouses, but didn't recommend specific ones, and most of the itinerary it produced was essentially "just walk around this place." I did like that the results all linked out to other sources and websites, though, so I could do a deeper dive when researching its recommendations.
Day 1 and 2 of the Copilot-generated itinerary for Korea.
Macy Meyer/CNET
Copilot also went about $1,000 over budget with its recommendations and didn't suggest specific flights to take to Seoul.
That said, Copilot did shine when it came to sourcing carbon offset programs and comparing airline emissions. Its integration with Microsoft's web tools helped it pull in more current data.
The tropical wild card: AI goes off the grid
Now for the fun part. I asked each AI platform to plan the most sustainable tropical trip it could dream up. My only parameters were that I wanted a warm and tropical climate, nature and an eco-conscious budget.
Copilot recommended Palawan, Philippines -- the "last frontier" of the Philippines -- and laid out a 10-day trip. I loved the itinerary. I mean, it's like a dream vacation, so how could I not? But again, the results were pretty brief and lacked specificity. For instance, Copilot said things like "when booking, check for airlines that highlight sustainability" or "familiarize yourself with waste-reduction programs," when that's what I was hoping the chatbot would be able to do for me.
Copilot created a 10-day itinerary for the Philippines.
Macy Meyer/CNET
ChatGPT was again more detailed. It chose Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula -- a place I'd honestly never heard of, but I'm glad I know about now -- and outlined an eight-day experience. The suggested itinerary also included information about eco-lodges, permaculture farm tours and sea turtle conservation, and suggested packing reef-safe sunscreen and DEET-free bug spray.
ChatGPT generated a trip for Costa Rica.
Macy Meyer/CNET
I fact-checked the suggestions from both chatbots, and nearly everything checked out. Most of the lodges ChatGPT listed are genuinely sustainable, utilizing solar power, composting toilets and no single-use plastics. The activities Copilot suggested all support local economies, communities and conservation. Both itineraries were invested in ecotourism, which I appreciated.
This brings me to an important reminder: You can't take anything at face value. AI chatbots have a history of "hallucinating" wrong answers, meaning they generate false or misleading information and present it as fact. Any search or answer must be fact-checked.
What AI gets right and wrong about sustainable travel
Planning with AI has its perks: It saves time, simplifies the research and pulls in suggestions I never would've thought of (looking at you, Osa Peninsula). But AI isn't perfect. The chatbots occasionally recommended hotels that looked eco-friendly, but weren't certified. Neither platform could consistently tell if a business was truly sustainable or just good at marketing, and neither can book anything for you like a real travel agent can.
Also, AI doesn't know you. It doesn't know that you prefer local buses to private tours, or that your idea of a dream vacation involves zero plans and a hammock. You'll still need to tweak your itinerary to suit your actual personality, not your browser history.
For sustainable travel planning, both ChatGPT and Copilot were helpful tools to jumpstart the trip-planning process. Neither platform can replace a good travel advisor or first-hand knowledge, but they're decent enough assistants for brainstorming, budgeting and discovering new ideas.
See also: Chatbots Are Ready to Help in Language Learning. Here's My Experience
Would I use AI to plan my next trip?
Maybe, but with caveats. I'd consider using ChatGPT and Copilot again, especially at the early planning stage when I'm besieged with options for travel destinations, but I definitely feel like I could get the same results from a well-traveled friend, travel agent or travel books like Lonely Planet.
If I did opt to use AI chatbots again in the future, I'd still double-check sustainability claims, compare prices manually and use traditional sites to book things. AI is a tool, not a travel agent.
While AI can help, the most sustainable travel choices -- taking fewer flights, supporting local businesses, packing smart and minimizing waste -- still fall on us.