From Zero-Click to Zero-Effort: We Tested ChatGPT's Agent Mode.

Last week, OpenAI officially introduced ChatGPT Agent Mode. This feature quietly transforms AI from a question-answering assistant into a task-performing agent. Now, you can ask it to plan a trip, find accommodation, suggest local events, and more. It will browse, compare, filter, and take action on your behalf. That last part is the breakthrough.

The Evolution of Travel Planning with AI

This is something different. Agent Mode doesn’t just assist; it acts within a visible virtual browser. It doesn’t merely scan the web; it opens real websites. It applies filters, checks prices, and moves through booking flows. And it does all of this based on a single prompt.

Until now, users were responsible for seeing things through. The AI might suggest an Airbnb, but you had to open the link, read the details, compare prices, and apply additional filters manually. It could list vegan restaurants, but you still had to look up the menu, check availability, or make the reservation yourself. The journey wasn’t gone; it was just condensed and limited.

Now, it finds places for you based on your prompt, using factors like price, location, and timing. It then takes you straight to the checkout or reservation page, where you can enter your login and payment details. You still make the final decision, but the experience feels very different.

It’s no longer about juggling tabs or second-guessing whether you missed something better. The agent has already done that work. Your role becomes simpler. Instead of choosing between ten possibilities, you're deciding whether to go ahead with one. Yes or no. That shift from exploration to action is what makes Agent Mode stand out in the evolution of search behavior and travel planning.

Many manual steps, like switching tabs, applying filters, and comparing listings, are now automated. In a visible virtual browser, the AI opens real sites like Airbnb or local event pages, applies your criteria, and selects suitable options. It can even reach the checkout or reservation page.

You’re still in control. You can take over at any point. When login or payment information is required, the AI stops and waits for you. It won’t complete the booking, but it brings you right to the point where you can. Everything is prepared and ready.

Is This New?

This isn’t the first time the tech industry has explored the idea of agent-like tools. In 2018, Google demonstrated Duplex, a voice assistant that could call businesses to make reservations. It was technically impressive but also highly scripted and limited in scope, and it never reached broad adoption.

In 2023, open-source projects like Auto-GPT began experimenting with autonomous agents that could take actions online. These tools aimed for similar outcomes but were often too complex, unpredictable, or developer-focused to gain mainstream use.

Agent Mode is different. It brings those ideas into a stable, consumer-facing experience. For the first time, an AI built into a mainstream product like ChatGPT can complete real-world tasks using a natural language prompt. It opens real web pages, applies filters, compares results, and prepares actions—without needing more input from the user.

In that sense, yes — this is something new. Especially when it comes to travel planning.

And that’s exactly why I wanted to try it for myself. What would happen if I handed over my entire weekend trip, including the dates, the budget, the location, and my preferences, to ChatGPT’s Agent Mode?

Putting Agent Mode to the Test: A Weekend in Budapest

To see how this works in practice, I asked ChatGPT’s Agent Mode to plan a weekend trip to Budapest. The request was simple: find an Airbnb for next weekend, keep the accommodation under €100 per day, suggest a few activities or local events, and recommend vegan restaurants.

From there, the agent took over.

A virtual browser opened, and I watched as it began searching. It went to Airbnb.com, entered the criteria, and applied filters for location, price, and dates. It scrolled through listings and selected a realistic option—a private studio apartment that matched both the location and the budget. Then it opened the listing in full detail, checked availability, and moved to the reservation page.

At the same time, it opened other tabs to explore events and activities. It browsed several Budapest-focused platforms, checked what was happening that weekend, and selected a few options based on popularity and timing. These included a boat party on the Danube, a thermal bath pass, and a walking tour through the Jewish Quarter. The entire process was visible in the browser, step by step.

The impressive part wasn’t just what it found, but how it found it.

The agent used real websites, not summaries or AI-generated guesses. It searched, clicked, filtered, and compared the way a person would. But instead of taking me 45 minutes and 15 tabs, it completed everything in around five minutes, all from a single prompt.

When it reached steps that required login or payment, it paused and waited for me. I could take control at any point, but I didn’t need to. It had already done the research, prepared the booking, and curated the options, without asking a single follow-up question.

For anyone who has worked in digital tourism or itinerary building, this shift is striking. The planning process is no longer made up of dozens of micro-decisions. Instead, travelers are presented with one clear yes-or-no moment. That alone is extremely powerful.

The AI doesn’t weigh emotion, visuals, or brand loyalty. It weighs access, clarity, and fit, like an analyst. And those factors are directly shaped by your destination’s digital hygiene.

The Human Touch vs. AI Precision

So what’s the difference between how an AI agent plans a trip and how a human does it?

On the surface, the result might look similar: a weekend itinerary, a place to stay, and a few recommendations for what to do and where to eat. But the path to getting there is completely different, and that’s where it gets interesting.

As a traveler, you rely on your instincts. You might skim a few blog posts, scroll through TikTok, glance at some photos, and check the reviews—especially if you’re still unsure about the atmosphere of a place. You compare a few places side by side, get distracted along the way, maybe even restart the search twice. It’s just human, and this is part of the discovery and exploration of the journey. Many of us are guided by what feels right, not just what ticks all the boxes.

Agent Mode doesn’t do that. It doesn’t have instincts, taste, or even a sense of what’s beautiful or memorable. It follows instructions. It looks for structure, filters, and logic. It opens a trusted blog, scans the details, checks, e.g., if the restaurant is fully vegan or just “vegan-friendly,” then cross-references timing with your check-in. It doesn’t second-guess; it executes.

And that’s where the gap lies.

The AI isn’t faster because it cuts corners. It’s faster because it doesn’t wander. It doesn’t need to check a map unless location is part of the criteria. It won’t scroll past ten listings just to see if the next one “looks better.” It doesn’t ask follow-up questions unless you prompt them. It just follows your initial intent, tightly and precisely, until it reaches an endpoint.

What this means for travel isn’t just that things are getting more convenient. It’s that planning itself is being redefined. What used to be a process—a journey made up of little detours, doubts, validations, and backtracking—is now a straight line. And that shift has big implications.

For users, it’s a time-saver. For the industry, it’s a filter.

For tourism providers, it’s a new kind of challenge. This is also where a new opportunity opens up.

Navigating the New Landscape of Travel Planning

And here is the twist:

ChatGPT’s Agent Mode doesn’t use Google; it pulls results primarily from Bing.

That changes the rules for visibility. If your strategy focuses only on Google rankings, it won’t carry over here.

This isn’t a disadvantage; it’s a market gap. Most destinations still haven’t optimized even their basic profiles on Google, let alone Bing. That means less competition and more room to stand out. Updating your Bing Places profile and improving structured content can already give you an edge. Small steps here can lead to big visibility gains.

That’s the shift. Travel planning is changing. It’s a straight line from question to action. Zero-click was just the beginning. Now we’re moving toward zero-effort. The destination is the same. But how it was found is not.

Want to know if your destination is ready for the next wave of AI-powered travel planning?

Let’s find out together.

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