United Airlines on November 11 banned personal AI agents from booking, modifying, or servicing tickets across its digital platforms, travel agencies, and flight aggregators, citing data-security risks and potential violations of Federal Aviation Administration and Department of Transportation regulations1,2,4.
The carrier updated its contract of carriage to add Rule 6.J.6, which prohibits the use of AI agents to make, modify, or service a ticket or purchase any service or product — even when a customer supervises or approves the transaction3. Rule 5.H gives United the right to cancel reservations made through such agents.
Kirby's commercial calculus
United CEO Scott Kirby framed the move in blunter terms at an event in Chicago. "To be honest, I don't want to create another middleman," Kirby said5. The airline said it had not yet seen many consumers attempt to use AI agents for flight bookings.
United warned that sharing account credentials with third-party AI assistants could expose sensitive information and lead to unintended purchases, account modifications, or unauthorized use of MileagePlus miles. The airline also flagged that automated AI tools performing actions like flight check-in — which requires human acknowledgment that bags do not contain banned substances such as explosives — could create regulatory risks under FAA and DOT rules6.
Agents can still surface United flights to users but cannot complete transactions on their behalf.
A widening corporate split
United is the second known U.S. carrier to block AI agents; the policy landscape suggests Delta Air Lines has already taken a similar step. JPMorgan Chase and Amazon have also blocked agent access to their platforms. Amazon specifically blocked Meta's Muse.
Other companies are moving in the opposite direction. Walmart has partnered with Meta's Muse, and online travel firms Expedia and Booking are working with OpenAI. The divergence leaves newer consumer AI products — including Meta's Muse and OpenAI Dots — facing an uneven patchwork of corporate access.
ANALYSIS The contract-of-carriage language is notably broad: it covers agents operating through intermediaries and is not nullified by human oversight, which would capture agentic workflows where a user reviews and approves an agent's proposed booking before completion. Kirby's candid framing — rejecting a new intermediary layer — points to a distribution-control motive that runs alongside the stated regulatory and security rationale. United's policy updates take effect across its booking, ticketing, and distribution channels.