[LISTEN] Are you after speed and efficiency or safety and accuracy?
Amy Maclver interviews Andrew Thompson about his New24 article ‘We asked ChatGPT to plan a holiday to Cape Town – and compared it to an actual travel agent’.
Times are tough and we’re all looking to cut costs where we can.
If you’re planning a holiday, making use of a travel agency to deal with all of the admin can be a bit costly, which is why Thompson and his team put ChatGPT to the test, by having them plan a 72-hour trip to the Mother City for a first-time visitor from Johannesburg in December.
For someone that might not be familiar with Cape Town, Thompson says that they probably would’ve appreciated the itinerary produced by ChatGPT, however, for those that know a thing or two, he says it was ‘laughable’ as all of the recommendations were for places or airlines that are no longer in business.
While ChatGPT wins for availability, speed, and efficiency, the safest and most accurate travel planning still requires humans – whether that be you or a travel agent.
He adds that if you want peace of mind and expert assistance – especially for more complex trips requiring visas, tours, and connecting flights – the travel agents are the winners.
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It [ChatGPT] was pretty unreliable in the end.
Andrew Thompson, News24
Scroll up to listen to the full interview.