United Airlines blocks AI agents from booking flights, citing cybersecurity risks

In Brief

United Airlines said it volition restrict entree to AI agents seeking to publication flights and negociate reservations connected their users’ behalf, citing a hazard to cybersecurity and undermining national regulations.

The hose is the latest American firm elephantine to forestall customers from utilizing AI agents and autonomous assistants to entree their systems. The determination comes arsenic airlines and banks are struggling to differentiate betwixt existent customers and AI systems operating connected their behalf, specified arsenic erstwhile users stock their logins with their AI assistants. Sharing passwords with apps and assistants tin make information risks if those credentials get leaked oregon exposed.

United warns that “sharing relationship credentials with personal, third-party, AI assistants tin exposure delicate information, and actions taken by these tools whitethorn effect successful unintended purchases, relationship changes, oregon usage of MileagePlus miles.”

The hose besides warns of a hazard of violating national aviation rules, specified arsenic requiring that a quality completes formation check-ins to admit that their bags bash not incorporate banned substances.

“As a result, United is taking steps to restrict entree — straight wrong our integer platforms and indirectly via question agencies and aggregators — to prohibit usage by unauthorized, third-party idiosyncratic AI agents oregon assistants,” the hose said in a statement. “This enactment includes updates to our booking, ticketing and organisation policies.”

The airline’s determination follows a informing from banks, including Bank of America, which past week urged customers not to stock their passwords with their AI assistants.

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