Can ChatGPT book tours and activities? What the in-chat apps actually do
Where the search happens, where the payment happens, and what you still do yourself, app by app.
Aino team, 8 min read
Aino publishes this guide and is building a trip planning app of its own, launching in winter 2027. Every other app here is described from its own site and store listings, with prices dated.
Quick answer. No. As of October 2026, ChatGPT doesn't take payment for tours or activities inside the chat. Partner apps from Expedia, Booking.com, Viator and Skyscanner search their catalogues and show results in the conversation, then send you to the partner's own site to pay. Agent mode can click through a booking form for you, but it stops before the purchase and asks.
- Expedia app: hotels and flights with live prices and a map. Click "Book on Expedia" to finish.
- Booking.com app: stays and, since May 2026, car rentals. You're redirected to Booking.com to pay.
- Viator app: tours and activities. The booking is completed on Viator.
- Kayak: no app in ChatGPT that we could find. There's a Kayak GPT that links out, and Kayak's own site has an AI mode built on ChatGPT.
- Instant Checkout, the pay-in-chat feature, covers goods from Etsy and Shopify sellers in the US. We found no travel use.
What "booking through ChatGPT" means in October 2026
There are three different things people mean by it, and they work differently.
The first is apps in ChatGPT, launched on 6 October 2025. You type the partner's name at the start of a message, link your account once, and the app answers inside the chat with live listings. This is where Expedia, Booking.com and Viator live.
The second is Instant Checkout, launched in late September 2025. This is the only case where you pay without leaving ChatGPT. It started with US users buying single items from US Etsy sellers, with Shopify merchants to follow.
The third is ChatGPT agent, from July 2025, on paid plans. It opens a browser inside ChatGPT, navigates a website and fills in forms. Launch coverage says it asks for your permission before it buys anything.
For tours and activities, only the first and third apply, and in both cases the money changes hands on someone else's site.
The Expedia app: flights and hotels, booked on Expedia
Expedia's app was one of the first partner apps, announced on 6 October 2025. Start a message with "Expedia" and ask for a hotel or flight. The app returns results that match your dates, budget and number of travellers, with photos, prices and an interactive map, and you can narrow them with follow-ups like "only four-star hotels".
When you've chosen, you click Book on Expedia and the handoff happens. TechCrunch's how-to says you "go to Expedia to finalize everything and book your trip," and Expedia's description says confirmed reservations then show up in the Trips section of your Expedia account.
Tours aren't part of the app as far as we could find. The launch coverage lists hotels, flights and maps. Expedia sells activities on its own site, but the ChatGPT app descriptions we read don't mention them.
The Booking.com app: stays and cars, booked on Booking.com
Booking.com's app launched alongside Expedia's. Its 9 October 2025 release says users can browse accommodation inside ChatGPT, then move to the Booking.com platform to select and reserve a room.
On 20 May 2026 it added car rentals. You describe the car you want, for example an automatic SUV in Mallorca, see matching options in the chat, and once you've chosen you're redirected to Booking.com to complete the reservation. That release says the app is available to ChatGPT users globally.
Booking.com lists attractions on its own site, but the ChatGPT app covers stays and cars in the material we found. We couldn't confirm any tour search inside it.
The Viator app: tours found in chat, booked on Viator
Viator, Tripadvisor's experiences marketplace, has a listing in ChatGPT's app directory. It describes searching Viator's catalogue of tours, attractions and experiences in plain language, filtered by destination, dates, price and category. Skift tested it in July 2026 and got branded listings, prices and booking buttons once it worked.
We couldn't find a press release from Tripadvisor for the ChatGPT app, so we don't know its launch date. The closest official wording is Tripadvisor's 30 July 2026 announcement of the Viator app for Google Gemini, which says: "click through to Viator to complete your booking." Nothing we found suggests the ChatGPT version takes payment in the chat.
So for a husky safari in Rovaniemi, the flow is: ask ChatGPT with "Viator" at the start, compare a few options in the chat, click through, and pay on Viator. Each tour is its own booking. Viator's older help pages say each tour is a separate transaction.
Kayak: a GPT and an AI mode, no app in ChatGPT
Kayak was an early ChatGPT partner, with a plugin in March 2023 for Plus subscribers. Plugins were later discontinued. In October 2026 we couldn't find a Kayak app in ChatGPT's directory.
What exists is a Kayak GPT in the GPT Store, which Afar tested in a piece updated in May 2025. It gives you a tailored link to Kayak that opens in a new tab, where you book. Kayak also launched an AI Mode on kayak.com in October 2025, built on ChatGPT, which lives on Kayak's site rather than inside ChatGPT.
Skyscanner: flights only
Skyscanner's app in ChatGPT launched in February 2026 for the UK and US. You ask for the cheapest flight to New York in December, say, and get options you can refine by date or airport. It's flights only, and Skyscanner's model has always been to send you to the airline or agent to pay.
Where the handoff happens, app by app
| App | What you can search in the chat | Where you pay | Tours and activities? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expedia | Hotels, flights, map of the area, live prices | Expedia.com, via Book on Expedia | Not in the app, as far as we could find |
| Booking.com | Stays, car rentals (May 2026) | Booking.com, after a redirect | Not in the app, as far as we could find |
| Viator | Tours, attractions, experiences by destination, date and price | Viator.com | Yes, found in chat, booked on Viator |
| Skyscanner | Flights, UK and US at launch | Airline or agent site | No |
| Kayak (GPT, not an app) | Flights, hotels via Kayak's data | Kayak.com in a new tab | No |
| Instant Checkout | Goods from Etsy and Shopify sellers, US | Inside ChatGPT | No travel found |
| ChatGPT agent (paid) | Any website it can navigate | On the site, after asking you | In principle, with your approval at the end |
Can you use these apps in the EU?
At launch, OpenAI said apps were available to logged-in users on Free, Go, Plus and Pro plans outside the EEA, Switzerland and the UK, and that it expected to bring them to EU users soon. TechCrunch's October 2025 guide described the rollout as limited to the US and Canada at the time.
Since then, Skyscanner launched its app in the UK, and Booking.com's May 2026 car rental release says its app is available globally. We couldn't find an OpenAI page in October 2026 that confirms EU availability app by app. If you're in Finland or elsewhere in the EU, open Settings, then Apps, and see what's listed.
Why ChatGPT sometimes ignores the app you connected
Skift's July 2026 hands-on test found ChatGPT "repeatedly bypassed or denied" apps that were already connected, first claiming it couldn't use them. Each app worked in the end, after more prompting. Expedia told Skift it was a known platform bug.
The workaround is to name the app at the start of your message, every time. "Viator, show me husky safaris in Rovaniemi on 20 December under 200 euros" works better than asking in general and hoping it picks the app.
What this means for a real trip
Take three days in Rovaniemi in winter: a husky safari, a reindeer farm visit and an evening northern lights tour. Through ChatGPT, that's at least three Viator searches, three click-throughs and three separate payments, and ChatGPT never checks whether the 10:00 husky slot on Saturday still has places before it suggests it.
After each booking you're back in the chat typing the confirmed time into your plan and checking by hand that the pick-ups don't overlap. That's the same work as booking on Viator directly, with a chat window in the middle.
Most travellers aren't ready to hand that over anyway. Expedia Group's April 2026 survey of more than 5,700 adults found 66% would not trust an AI assistant to buy or book on their behalf, and 68% prefer a trusted travel brand at the booking step. A Travelport survey in August 2026 found about 72% of US consumers say AI-assisted booking causes them stress, and only 8% use AI to book the final trip.
Our practical advice: use ChatGPT to shortlist, then book date-critical activities first, with the operator or a marketplace, and keep the confirmations somewhere you'll find them. We compare the marketplaces in GetYourGuide vs Viator vs Klook, and the order to do things in is in the trip planning checklist. For picking the activities themselves, see how to plan activities for a trip.
Frequently asked questions
Can ChatGPT book a tour for me?
Not inside the chat, as of October 2026. The Viator app in ChatGPT finds and compares tours, and the booking is finished on Viator. ChatGPT's agent mode can work through a booking site on a paid plan, but it stops and asks you before paying.
What does the Expedia app in ChatGPT do?
You type Expedia at the start of a message and it returns hotels and flights with live prices, photos and a map. When you pick one, you click Book on Expedia and finish on Expedia's site. The booking then appears in your Expedia account.
Can I book a trip through ChatGPT in Europe?
At launch in October 2025 the apps were only available outside the EEA, Switzerland and the UK. Skyscanner's app launched in the UK in February 2026 and Booking.com says its car rental app is available globally, but we couldn't confirm the EU position for every app in October 2026. Check the Apps section in your own ChatGPT settings.
Does ChatGPT Instant Checkout work for travel?
Not that we could find. Instant Checkout launched in September 2025 for US users buying from Etsy sellers, with Shopify merchants to follow. The coverage we found covers goods, not tours, flights or hotels.
Is it cheaper to book a tour through ChatGPT?
The price you see is the partner's price, since you pay on Expedia, Booking.com or Viator. Marketplaces charge operators commission, so for some tours booking direct with the operator costs less. Compare before you pay.
Sources
- OpenAI, Introducing apps in ChatGPT, October 2025, accessed 13 October 2026
- TechCrunch, How to use the new ChatGPT app integrations, October 2025, accessed 13 October 2026
- Travolution, ChatGPT integrates Expedia app, October 2025, accessed 13 October 2026
- Upgraded Points, Expedia and Booking.com apps live inside ChatGPT, October 2025, accessed 13 October 2026
- Booking.com, Debuts agentic AI innovations, 9 October 2025, accessed 13 October 2026
- Booking.com, Making car rentals easier with app in ChatGPT, 20 May 2026, accessed 13 October 2026
- Tripadvisor, Viator becomes Google's first connected app for travel experiences, July 2026, accessed 13 October 2026
- Drio App Tracker, Viator app in ChatGPT listing, accessed 13 October 2026
- Skift, The hidden hurdle in AI travel planning: chatbots that ignore the app, July 2026, accessed 13 October 2026
- Kayak, Kayak and ChatGPT integration, March 2023, accessed 13 October 2026
- Skift, Kayak introduces AI Mode, October 2025, accessed 13 October 2026
- Afar, I tried 4 AI travel planning apps, updated May 2025, accessed 13 October 2026
- Travolution, Skyscanner launches app in ChatGPT for UK and US, February 2026, accessed 13 October 2026
- Thurrott, OpenAI teams up with Etsy and Shopify for Instant Checkout, September 2025, accessed 13 October 2026
- Tom's Guide, OpenAI's new ChatGPT agent is here, July 2025, accessed 13 October 2026
- Expedia Group, The AI Trust Gap survey, April 2026 (via Hospitality Net), accessed 13 October 2026
- Travelport Traveler Confidence Survey, August 2026 (via Hospitality Net), accessed 13 October 2026
