ixigo Launches AI-Native Travel App With Agentic Booking Features

Online travel platform ixigo has launched a redesigned AI-native version of its app, introducing a multimodal AI assistant, real-time trip management tools and what it calls "agentic travel flows" aimed at automating parts of the travel experience.

The company announced the launch at its ixigo NEXT technology event, stating that the platform has been rebuilt with AI integrated across the user interface rather than layered onto existing systems. This distinction matters because many competitors simply bolt AI chatbots onto legacy booking engines. The result is often clunky—users still navigate through the same filter menus, just with a chat window tacked on the side.

At the centre of the updated app is TARA, ixigo's AI-powered travel assistant, which supports voice, text and tap-based interactions in English, Hindi and Hinglish. The assistant is designed to handle travel-related queries, itinerary planning and personalised recommendations based on user preferences and booking history. According to the company, TARA can process more complex travel requests, including hotel searches with specific preferences and multi-city itinerary planning.

The assistant also provides contextual information such as flight schedules, gate details, weather updates and lounge recommendations. This represents a shift from reactive search to proactive assistance. Instead of hunting for gate changes on an airline website, the system pushes updates directly to the user's device. The physical experience changes—you're no longer refreshing screens in a crowded terminal, hoping to catch a notification before boarding closes.

ixigo has also introduced a new feature called Trip Mode, which consolidates post-booking information such as boarding passes, terminal details, boarding information and baggage belt updates into a single interface. The feature also provides real-time alerts and travel recommendations during a journey. This consolidation addresses a real pain point: travelers juggling multiple apps for flights, hotels, trains, and ride-sharing services.

In addition, the company announced "agentic travel flows", where AI agents carry out specific travel-related tasks in the background. These include sending boarding passes through WhatsApp, enabling wallet integration for Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, and sharing documents with Digi Yatra. The system can also monitor flight schedules, notify users of delays and assist with refund management in the event of cancellations.

For hotel bookings, ixigo said its AI agents can coordinate with hotels ahead of check-in to confirm room readiness. The company added that several of these features are opt-in and permission-based. This permission-based approach is critical—users need control over what data the AI accesses and what actions it takes autonomously.

The redesigned app also includes a personalised homepage that adapts according to user travel history and behaviour, alongside a refreshed interface with a dark mode option. The dark mode isn't just cosmetic; it reduces eye strain during late-night travel planning sessions, which is when many users actually book flights.

Commenting on the launch, Rajnish Kumar, Group Co-CEO, and Aloke Bajpai, Group CEO, ixigo, said the company sees AI-led and agent-driven workflows becoming a larger part of travel planning and assistance. Bajpai stated, "Over the last two decades, ixigo has focused on building products that reduce anxiety and bring peace of mind to travellers. With the new ixigo app, we are reimagining travel as a conversational, intuitive and deeply personalised experience powered by AI."

According to Economic Times reporting, the AI assistant resolved 3.81 million customer queries in Q3 FY26, up from 2.11 million queries in Q4 FY25. Over 76% of the voice calls were end-to-end resolved by AI in the third quarter. These metrics suggest the system is handling substantial volume, though the quality of resolution remains a separate question.

Kumar told ET, "In December, during the indigo flight disruptions, we stepped up proactive voice calling, with AI handling a whopping 90% of all calls, and over 150,000 calls handled end to end by AI during the impacted period." This stress test during actual service disruptions provides more meaningful validation than controlled demos. The system was forced to perform under real pressure, with real consequences for stranded passengers.

The development reflects ixigo's broader strategy to integrate AI-led capabilities into travel planning and management. The company told ET that the AI assistant will now be able to function in the background when the app is not being actively used. Launched as a chatbot in 2018, TARA now supports voice conversations in English, Hindi and Hinglish, with six more languages expected soon.

Most features are opt-in and permission-based, with more agentic workflows expected to be added in the future. This measured rollout makes sense—agentic AI that autonomously books flights or processes refunds carries liability risks. Users need to trust the system before granting it significant autonomy.

The platform has completely rebuilt its app as an AI-native platform to make travel more conversational, intuitive and personalised. Autocar Professional coverage notes the company's emphasis on embedding AI across the entire experience rather than adding it in patches. This architectural choice affects performance—AI-native systems can process intent faster than retrofit solutions that must translate between old and new interfaces.

According to ET Travel World, the new app has been rebuilt with AI embedded across the user interface, enabling travellers to interact through voice, text or tap instead of navigating conventional search filters. The platform is designed to deliver personalised recommendations based on user intent, preferences and travel history.

The agentic features represent a meaningful shift in how travel apps function. Instead of users actively searching for information, the system monitors conditions and takes action. Boarding passes can be shared via WhatsApp or stored in digital wallets, with real-time updates for changes in flight schedules or gate details. The platform also includes support for coordinating hotel check-ins to improve the overall stay experience.

Whether this translates to actual user adoption remains the real question. Travel apps compete on price, reliability, and trust. AI features are compelling, but they don't replace the fundamental need for accurate inventory, competitive pricing, and customer support when things go wrong. The December indigo disruption test showed promise, but that was a single event under specific conditions.

The technology works. The question is whether travelers will actually use it consistently enough to justify the investment. Most people still prefer scrolling through familiar interfaces rather than trusting an AI to make autonomous decisions about their travel. The friction of permission-based workflows might slow adoption, but it's necessary for safety and trust.

Whether users actually pay for it remains the real question. The app is free, but the value proposition needs to prove itself beyond novelty. Time will tell if agentic travel becomes standard or just another feature that sits unused in the background.

Artūras Malašauskas is an AI Systems Integrator with 20+ years of production-grade web engineering experience. He has designed, shipped, and scaled enterprise Python/PHP systems for logistics, SaaS, and public-sector clients. For the past year, he has focused exclusively on AI integrations: deploying open-source LLMs, building generative media pipelines (image, audio, video), and engineering multi-agent workflows for real production environments. His standard: reproducibility, security, cost-efficient inference—no vaporware. He documents and evaluates emerging AI tooling, separating verified capabilities from marketing noise. Technical editor at: muza-ai.eu, ai-verslas.lt, ai-naujinos.lt Connect on LinkedIn