A trip, yes, but where to go?! 👉🏻 A travel planner GPT

I'm not the type of person who spends the whole week thinking about what to do at the weekend. I often think of it too late – and then it's not uncommon for my mind to go blank: I can only think of things I've already seen.

The other day was one of those days. I suddenly had time and my daughter had no school. So where to go? Again, crickets chirping in my head. ‘This can't go on,’ I thought to myself, and sat down at my laptop.

About an hour later, I had the prototype of the trip planner. I tried it out a few times myself to see if what it came up with made sense (and actually existed). The tips were pretty good and nothing seemed made up or invented.

The logic of the agent is simple: the planner asks what really drives decisions:

• Starting point

• Time available

• How long can the journey take

• How much can it cost

• Are children, dogs or Komodo dragons coming along

• Are there any wishes, special needs or no-gos?

He then calculates the options and spits out five variants that fit the calendar. Where necessary, he pulls up current information via web research (opening hours, prices, connections). Everything is in German, without any problematic data entry (and without a guarantee of good weather).

The feedback from the first external tests was clear: ‘It's really fun – like a mini holiday on your computer.’ One person specified ‘dog’ and very little time and was familiar with the suggestions – they all fit. A recurring point: a few key questions could be grouped together even earlier so that fewer follow-up questions are necessary. Fair enough – on the other hand, I don't want to annoy users with 174 questions.

What I'm considering changing: Maybe a few additional questions at the beginning; maybe a short summary before the final answer to the query (possibly with a switch option such as ‘shorter journey / cheaper / more nature’); it might make sense to consider seasonality.

Since I built it, I've used it twice to search for destinations. Both times, I found the suggestions actually useful – and it wasn't just the same as last time.

If you like, you're welcome to test it (and ideally give me two minutes of feedback). Or, if everything suits you, just set off.

Disclaimer: By clicking on the link, you will be redirected to an external website. In addition, the GPT only works if you have an account with OpenAI. It does not matter whether it is paid or free, the only important thing is that you are logged in.