# How to plan a trip with friends using AI

Most AI trip planners plan for one. What works when four people are going, and how to plan together without the group chat chaos.

Published 2026-10-05 by Richard Kaminsky and Mitchell Lipyansky, the co-founders of Poly. Canonical: https://usepoly.co/plan-a-trip-with-friends-ai
Poly is a multiplayer AI coding workspace: a shared room where your team works with one AI agent, together. Free to start: https://usepoly.co/

**To plan a trip with friends using AI, pick an app where everyone works on the same plan, not one person's chat. Mindtrip lets you invite friends into a group chat with its AI; Wanderlog, Pilot and Stippl give everyone one itinerary to edit live, with an AI assistant and cost splitting; Google lets friends co-edit a saved Maps list, while a plan from Gemini or AI Mode is yours to share as a copy; and Poly puts you and your friends in one chat with the same AI, which builds a trip board everyone can heart and rearrange. ChatGPT's group chats, a common way to do this, stopped taking new chats on July 9, 2026.**

## Key takeaways

- Friends and an AI in one chat: Mindtrip, through @mindtrip in its group chats, and Poly.
- One shared itinerary with AI help: Wanderlog, Pilot and Stippl.
- Google is free and good for a shared list of places; its AI plans are shared as copies.
- Whatever you plan in, Splitwise or Tricount can split the costs.

*AI trip planning for groups, from each app's own pages and listings, October 2026.*

|  | Friends and AI in one chat | Shared plan everyone edits | Cost |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Poly | Yes, everyone talks to the same AI | A trip board the AI builds; everyone hearts and reorders | Free start; each pays for what they ask |
| Mindtrip | Yes, @mindtrip in group chats | Shared collections and itineraries | Free |
| Wanderlog | No; an AI assistant | Yes, in real time | Free; Pro from $5.99 a month |
| Pilot | Built-in chat and an AI builder | Yes, in real time, with voting | Free |
| Stippl | Group chat and an AI generator | Yes, in real time | Free; purchases from $3.99 |
| Google | No | Maps lists; AI plans shared as copies | Free |
| Airbnb wishlists | No | Shared wishlists with votes | Free |
| ChatGPT group chats | Closed | No new chats since July 9, 2026 | Closed |

## Which apps put your friends and the AI in one chat?

**[Mindtrip](https://mindtrip.ai/)** is an AI travel assistant for flights, stays, restaurants and events. You can invite friends into a group chat, bring in its AI by mentioning @mindtrip, share collections and itineraries to edit together, and get recaps of the group chat ([App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/mindtrip-ai-travel-companion/id6503107567)). Free; on the web and iOS.

**Poly** (usepoly.co) puts you and your friends in one live chat with the same AI, and each of you picks Claude, GPT, Grok, Kimi or Muse. As you talk, the AI builds a shared trip board, with days and places on a map. Friends heart the ideas they like and drag the days into order, open a day to see its schedule with the time between stops, and see which place a friend is looking at. A group chat beside it is for anything you don't want the AI to read. Your friend needs a free account; each of you pays only for what you ask the AI. [Plan a trip with a friend](/friends).

## Which apps give everyone one itinerary to edit?

- **[Wanderlog](https://wanderlog.com/trip-planner-ai)** lets you invite trip mates and plan together in real time, with an AI assistant whose suggestions go straight into the plan, itineraries built from a pasted link or a shared reel, and expense tracking with bill splitting. The core app is free; Pro is listed in the App Store from $5.99 a month. iOS, Android and the web.
- **[Pilot](https://www.pilotplans.com/)** has real-time co-editing, invites, voting on activities, a built-in chat, expense splitting and an AI itinerary builder. Free; web, iOS and Android.
- **[Stippl](https://www.stippl.io/)** has an AI itinerary generator, real-time co-editing, a group chat and cost splitting, with in-app purchases from $3.99.
- **[Plan Harmony](https://www.planharmony.com/)** has a shared calendar itinerary, group voting, a group chat, budget splitting and AI that weighs the group's preferences, with a free plan.

## What about Google?

Google's tools are free, but its AI planning is single-player:

- **Gemini** plans trips with Maps, Flights, Hotels and your Gmail bookings, and can email the final itinerary to your travel crew ([Google](https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/gemini/how-gemini-plans-trips/)). There is no chat for several people.
- **Ask Maps**, Gemini in Google Maps, plans stops in conversation and saves places to a list you can share; US and India, on phones.
- **Canvas in AI Mode** builds a trip plan with live flight and hotel data. A shared Canvas is a link the other person turns into their own copy to change; US, in English.
- **Collaborative Maps lists** let friends add and edit places and notes ([Google](https://support.google.com/maps/answer/7280933)).

## What about Airbnb, Tripadvisor and Layla?

- **Airbnb** wishlists let collaborators add notes, vote listings up or down and change the dates and guest count ([Airbnb](https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1236)). Its September 30, 2026 update added AI search and side-by-side listing comparison, but no AI itinerary.
- **Tripadvisor's** AI trip builder, launched in 2023, turns your dates, companions and interests into a day-by-day plan you can share with travel companions.
- **[Layla](https://layla.ai/)** pairs an AI planner with human travel experts who plan and book for you. Its pages mention no way to plan with friends.

## How do you plan a group trip with AI, step by step?

1. **Put the limits in the first message:** dates, budget per person, who's coming and what each person must do. An AI plans better around constraints than around vibes.
2. **Let everyone add their own wishes,** in their own words, in the same place, so nobody is relaying for the group.
3. **Vote before you book.** Hearts or votes settle a shortlist faster than a debate in the group chat.
4. **Book through the links, then split the costs** in Splitwise or Tricount, which is free with no limits ([Tricount](https://tricount.com/)).

## What happened to ChatGPT group chats?

They let up to 20 people plan with ChatGPT in one chat until OpenAI stopped new ones on July 9, 2026; old chats turn read-only. [What happened to ChatGPT group chats](/chatgpt-group-chats), and [other ways to group chat with AI](/ai-group-chat-with-friends).

## Which should you use?

- **Friends who want one chat with the AI:** Mindtrip, or Poly for a board everyone shapes.
- **One shared itinerary, with bookings and offline maps:** Wanderlog.
- **Voting and cost splitting in the same app:** Pilot.
- **A free shared list of places:** Google Maps lists.
- **Choosing a rental together:** Airbnb wishlists.

## Common questions

**Is there an AI trip planner for groups?**

Yes. Mindtrip and Poly put friends and an AI in one chat, and Wanderlog, Pilot and Stippl give a group one itinerary to edit live with an AI assistant.

**Can friends plan a trip together in ChatGPT?**

Not in one chat any more: ChatGPT group chats stopped accepting new chats on July 9, 2026. Each person can share a chat as a snapshot, or the group can use an app built for planning together.

**Which group trip planning apps are free?**

Mindtrip, Pilot, Google's tools and Airbnb wishlists are free; Wanderlog and Stippl have free versions with paid upgrades; Poly is free to start, and each person pays only for what they ask the AI.

**Can Google Gemini plan a trip for a group?**

Gemini plans trips with Maps, Flights and Hotels and can email the itinerary to your travel crew, but there is no chat where several people plan with it together. Friends can co-edit a saved Google Maps list.

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