Overview
- United updated its contract of carriage on Wednesday, November 11 to ban unauthorized third‑party AI agents from making, changing, or servicing tickets and to allow the airline to cancel reservations tied to such agents.
- The airline will still let AI assistants display fares and search schedules but says final purchases must be completed by a person or through a direct, approved partnership.
- United cites risks to account security, unintended purchases or mileage use, and the difficulty of meeting FAA and DOT passenger‑acknowledgment rules as reasons for the restriction.
- The company is relying on policy changes, contract terms and existing API access controls to enforce the ban and has not detailed specific technical blocks or detection methods publicly.
- Rivals have taken varied approaches—Delta and American permit some authenticated agent bookings and Southwest offers a ChatGPT plugin—and industry observers note agent‑driven transactions remain rare today but could shape future AI monetization and distribution battles.