You Can Plan Your Next Trip With Artificial Intelligence

Your next trip could be planned by... artificial intelligence? A new startup called Lola aims to revolutionize the concept of travel agents by making trip booking as easy as texting a friend. The company, which was started by Kayak founder Paul English, officially launches for iPhones Thursday, with a small team of travel bookers who will rely on super-powered artificial intelligence algorithms that will help them manage as many as hundreds of clients at once. Here's how it works: After setting up an account--and punching in credit card details--Lola users can simply message a representative through the app, whether they need a simple round trip to Chicago or want to plan a weeklong hiking expedition through Indonesia. While a traditional booking site would make you type in dates, preferences, and countless other parameters, Lola promises to simplify the process by letting users make requests in conversational language: You might type "need a flight to O'Hare next weekend" instead of punching info into little boxes.