AI is playing a growing role in airline passenger experience, but most customers aren’t ready to fully trust it yet.
In a recent TTEC survey, consumers said they’re noticing airlines use AI more, in areas like customer support chatbots, delay or disruption notifications, booking and search recommendations, baggage tracking, and personalized offers.
But many people still are wary of AI tools, which presents some challenges – and opportunities – for airlines looking to improve customer experience.
Where fliers want AI most
The survey found that fliers are most interested in using AI tools when they can ease time-sensitive pain points.
When asked to identify the parts of the airline journey where AI would be most valuable, the greatest share (66%) of the 210 respondents cited fight status updates, followed closely by disruption management (65%) and trip planning and booking (63%). Respondents could choose multiple answers.
Those findings were in line with a separate poll TTEC conducted on LinkedIn. When asked where consumers saw the greatest potential for AI to improve the passenger journey, the largest share (51%) pointed to delay and cancellation management, while 25% said booking and trip planning, 12% said flight status updates, and the remaining 12% said baggage tracking.
Skepticism around AI persists
Airline passengers are ready to go all-in on AI just get. TTEC polling found just 35% of respondents have used an airline chatbot or AI assistant to resolve an issue. And when asked whether they trust AI systems to make decisions that affect their travel experience, only 18% said “entirely” or “very much.”
The skepticism around AI isn’t unique to airlines; rather, consumers in general aren’t sure how much they trust the rapidly development technology.
In a recent Quinnipiac University poll of 1,397 adults nationwide, a majority said were either very concerned (38%) or somewhat concerned (42%) about AI, while just 8% said they weren’t concerned at all. The level of unease was consistent across all age groups, from Gen Z to the Silent Generation.
The Quinnipiac poll also found 51% of Americans feel the pace of AI development is moving faster than they expected. And when asked how often they think they can trust AI-generated information, 49% said “only some of the time” and 27% said “hardly ever.”
The future of passenger experience
While AI's impact on it continues to unfold, airline passenger experience seems ripe for improvement, according to our TTEC survey. Most travelers we polled (85%) said passenger experience has stayed the same or gotten worse over the past 12 to 24 months.
The data suggests passengers aren’t resistant to AI; they're just waiting for it to show up where it matters most — in the time-sensitive moments that define whether a trip feels manageable or miserable.
Interested in AI in passenger experience? Look for TTEC at the Aviation Festival Americas 2026 in Miami June 3-4. And for a deeper dive into this topic, check out "The sky is the limit: How AI is elevating airline passenger experience," a Customer Strategist Journal special report sponsored by TTEC and Microsoft that will publish soon.
