- With mcp-ui (https://github.com/idosal/mcp-ui), supporting MCP Clients could allow the server to re-create the same booking flow UI that you find today on an aggregator's website
> Servers MUST NOT use elicitation to request sensitive information
For any LLM based flows to gain enough trust by the general public to handle flows that involve money, esp large sums of money, we need the equivalent of “pad lock on my browser means I’m secure” level of something easy to understand and teach everyone to see.
Booking is basically a contract. How can the AI assistant accept the terms and conditions for you? Or maybe it could pop up a scrollable window with an Accept button? Not sure if such a thing exists yet.
The courts have accepted that a company saying that you ticked a checkbox saying you have read and agree to a document in an entirely different location that they know you haven’t actually seen is a valid contract.
I suspect the argument is going to get tricky, but the business interest will win out.
Funny how annoying booking complex flights has become all while airlines (Ryanair) making it impossible to check in without full access to email (for 2fa) so you pay $40 per person at the airport. Kiwi kinda solved it but I’ve been cought out by this with other platforms.
This usecase could work with an api as well. But booking engines are not interested in providing such an api. I don't think this is a technical problem, but one of legal complications and incentives.
And book! That's a very exciting bit of tooling to add into an assistant, but there's lots of complexities...
Each result includes a booking link directly to the flight chosen
Oh well, we're not at the future we hoped for yet then, but it's progress.