November 12, 2026 – United Airlines said Wednesday that it is tightening its booking, ticketing and distribution policies to keep unauthorized personal AI assistants off its digital platforms, including through travel agencies and aggregators. The change comes through a November 11 revision to the airline’s contract of carriage, which now lists AI agents among its prohibited ticketing practices.

The rule covers more than a website block. It bars AI agents from purchasing tickets and other services even when the passenger supervises or approves the transaction, and travel agencies and booking platforms must get United’s express written consent before using agents to search, display, book or service its flights. Travelers can still use tools like Meta’s Muse and OpenAI’s Dots for research. Those agents can still pull up United’s flight options and prices.

United gave several reasons. It warned that handing an assistant access to a personal account could lead to unintended purchases, itinerary changes or unauthorized use of MileagePlus miles. It also argues the law is on its side: the airline says agent bookings may violate DOT and FAA rules, and that only a human can confirm at check-in that their bag holds no explosives. And there is a business motive. CEO Scott Kirby said he doesn’t want to create another middleman.

The practical effect is still unclear. United says its systems can already tell whether a booking came from an individual, a travel agency or an AI agent, and that it isn’t seeing many agent bookings yet. Bookings made by agents before November 11 will be honored. One industry analyst noted that a ban written into a contract isn’t a technical one, so enforcement against bookings routed through third parties is an open question.

United is not alone. It joins a growing group of companies, including JPMorgan Chase and Amazon, that block agents over security and privacy concerns.

Source: Sources: CBS News, Bloomberg, Engadget, View from the Wing, Law Commentary, DEV Community, Breitbart