United Moves to Restrict Unauthorized AI Agents on Its Platforms

On Wednesday, Nov. 11, United Airlines outlined steps to restrict unauthorized third-party personal artificial intelligence (AI) agents across its platforms, travel agencies and aggregators, with policy changes spanning booking, ticketing and distribution.

United tied the plan to account risks that can arise when customers give personal assistants their login details. The airline listed possible exposure of private information, purchases or account changes customers did not intend, and use of MileagePlus miles.

United also warned that automated AI activity could potentially violate Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations. Its example was check-in, where passengers must affirm that their baggage contains no banned materials, including explosives.

The airline uses AI for proactive flight updates, baggage tracking, customer support and employee workflows. The move follows TokenPost’s earlier coverage of AI assistants’ travel capabilities.

United has not named affected agents, given a start date or described how outside providers could be approved. The announcement did not address whether agents can search flight options and show fares without booking.