Use an agent to check trip bookings, not finish them
An agent was tested on three travel errands, but access barriers stopped it from completing any of them.
- What they did
- A poster set up a custom agent to work through bookings in a headless browser, step by step. It reported its user agent, looked at robots.txt before opening each page, and did not solve CAPTCHAs or type in personal details. The run covered a flight search, a Saturday 8pm dinner in London, and a King’s Cross-to-Edinburgh train.
- How it went
- Nothing was booked. The agent checked nine restaurants in under ten minutes, but only one allowed an availability search before blocks or bot defenses appeared. National Rail surfaced ten train choices quickly, yet the purchase path failed before checkout.
- Tips
- This kind of test shows where automation hits a wall, not just whether the agent can compare options. Expect many booking sites to reject consumer agents unless they have a supported API or a very open flow.
Try it yourself with ChatGPT Agent
Look up three travel items for me: a flight from [origin] to [destination] on [date], a restaurant booking for [number] people in [city] at [time], and a train from [departure station] to [arrival station]. For each one, find the best options you can reach, along with times, prices, and direct links. If a site refuses automated access or asks for personal or payment details, stop there and tell me exactly what happened. Before you submit, confirm with me first; do not pay, book, or finalize anything without my approval.
Fill in the [brackets]. Agents can make mistakes, so review anything before it is sent, paid or deleted.
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