United Airlines just made a big change to flight bookings. Here’s why Delta and American aren’t following

United Airlines updated its contract of carriage on Wednesday to prohibit AI agents from making, modifying or servicing a ticket or purchasing any service or product, citing risks that third-party AI assistants can expose passenger data, trigger unintended purchases or account changes, and potentially violate FAA or DOT rules such as the bag-acknowledgment required at check-in. Delta Air Lines and American Airlines told Fast Company they have not adopted a similar ban: Delta said AI tools that can authenticate a passenger's credentials may still complete bookings, with passengers ultimately responsible for authorizing transactions, while American said some AI tools can still purchase its tickets and that it monitors and can block automated traffic. United said bank and retail leaders have taken similar measures and "we encourage others to consider measures that preserve the data and security of their customers and strengthen safety.

United Airlines http://www.fastcompany.com/section/united is banning personal AI https://www.fastcompany.com/section/artificial-intelligence assistants from booking and modifying tickets on its system, a change that could see other airlines http://www.fastcompany.com/section/airlines follow suit. The Chicago-based carrier updated its contract of carriage https://www.united.com/en/us/fly/contract-of-carriage.html on Wednesday, prohibiting the use of AI agents to “make, modify or service a ticket, and/or purchase any service or product.” The airline cited concerns that third-party, AI assistants can expose the sensitive information of passengers and that actions taken by these tools may result in unintended purchases or account changes, it said in a statement https://www.united.com/en/us/newsroom/announcements/cision-125496 . United also noted that automated AI actions could potentially violate Federal Aviation Administration or Department of Transportation regulations—noting, for example, that flight check-in requires passengers to acknowledge that their bags don’t contain any banned items. The carrier, it seems, may be taking its cue from other industries as it cited that corporate leaders of banks http://www.fastcompany.com/section/banks and retail http://www.fastcompany.com/section/retailers companies have taken similar actions regarding AI agents. “We encourage others to consider measures that preserve the data and security of their customers and strengthen safety,” it said. As is often the case for the industry, other airlines may follow in United’s path, though none of the other major U.S. carriers have similarly banned AI agents—yet. Just last month, Southwest Airlines http://www.fastcompany.com/section/southwest announced a plugin partnership with ChatGPT https://www.swamedia.com/news-and-stories/news-release/southwest-airlines-launches-first-of-its-kind-u-s-airline-plugin-in-chatgpt-MCNMAY2YHKQNC5HPMFZZLBHKGPHI to “offer a simpler, more direct path from inspiration and discovery to booking options” with the airline. Here’s how the other major carriers are currently approaching AI tools for booking. United is one of the three largest carriers serving the U.S., along with Delta Air Lines http://www.fastcompany.com/section/delta and American Airlines http://www.fastcompany.com/section/american . Both of those airlines indicated to Fast Company that some AI tools continue to have booking privileges on their systems, though they’re both evaluating the landscape. A spokesperson for Fort Worth, Texas-based American said that because AI-assisted travel http://www.fastcompany.com/section/travel shopping and booking are evolving quickly, the airline will continue to evaluate how to best serve customers. “Some AI tools http://www.fastcompany.com/section/AI are able to facilitate the purchase of American Airlines tickets,” the company said in a statement. “At the same time, protecting our customers and their experience remains our priority. We actively monitor traffic across our website and app and can investigate, manage or block automated traffic when necessary to protect our customers and their experience.” A spokesperson for Delta told Fast Company that if an AI tool can authenticate a passenger’s credentials, then it can complete a booking on their behalf. But the company noted that even if passengers use AI tools, they’re ultimately responsible for overseeing any actions and authorizing any transactions taken by these assistants on their behalf. “We currently support certain interactions with AI assistants when they can be appropriately authenticated, while maintaining additional safeguards for sensitive transactions,” the company said in a statement to Fast Company. “We’re continuing to evaluate how new technology, including external AI agents, could enhance the way customers engage with Delta, always with security and the customer experience in mind.” Representatives for Southwest, JetBlue AirWays http://www.fastcompany.com/section/jetblue , Alaska Airlines http://www.fastcompany.com/section/alaska-airlines , and Frontier Airlines http://www.fastcompany.com/section/frontier-airlines didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment from Fast Company . Shares of United fell 1.8% on Wednesday while the broader S&P 500 Index rose 1.3%.