By Townhall Chicago News Staff
Chicago-headquartered United Airlines on Wednesday announced it is blocking third-party AI agents from accessing its booking and customer service platforms, citing risks to customer data, unintended purchases and potential violations of federal regulations.
The airline said it is restricting access “directly within our digital platforms and indirectly via travel agencies and aggregators” to prohibit use by unauthorized personal AI agents or assistants, according to a statement posted to its newsroom.
“Sharing account credentials with personal, third-party AI assistants can expose sensitive information, and actions taken by these tools may result in unintended purchases, account changes, or use of MileagePlus miles,” the airline said in the statement. “Plus, these automated AI actions have the potential to violate FAA and DOT regulations.”
United cited the example of flight check-in, which requires human acknowledgment that bags do not contain banned substances such as explosives, as a process that AI agents cannot properly complete.
“To be honest, I don’t want to create another middleman,” United CEO Scott Kirby said at an event on Tuesday, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The move makes United one of the first major airlines to draw a hard line against the growing ecosystem of AI-powered travel tools. Companies such as Meta and OpenAI have developed personal AI assistants capable of navigating websites and completing transactions on behalf of users. Research published this week by travel technology firm Propellic found that AI agents were able to carry conversations through to checkout with airlines in all 176 scripted booking requests tested.
United said it does not currently have any partnerships with third-party AI agents. The restrictions extend to bots, browser extensions and browser features that act on behalf of a consumer on United.com or the United app without the airline’s permission.
Travel agencies and booking platforms also cannot use third-party AI agents to book United travel for their customers and may only use their own AI tools with the airline’s explicit permission, according to the company’s Digital Trust Center.
United said it will not cancel bookings made by AI agents before the Nov. 11 restriction took effect but recommended that travelers review those reservations to ensure accuracy.
The airline left the door open to future changes, noting that it will “continue to evaluate how these tools interact with our services, with a focus on protecting our customers.”
“As third-party AI agents advance, we see the opportunities they present,” the airline said in the statement. “However, at the same time, allowing them to interact directly with a United account or booking could involve sensitive actions, and we want to make sure we have established protections for travelers first.”
United said corporate leaders in banking and retail have taken similar actions regarding AI agents and encouraged other industries to consider measures that protect customer data and strengthen safety. Amazon blocked at least one AI agent from shopping on its platform in September.
The airline said it will update its Digital Trust Center to help customers understand the restrictions, protect their accounts and get help if an AI agent takes an unintended action.
