Ixigo Unveils AI-Native Travel App Tara at ixigo NEXT Event

The online travel agency Ixigo has unveiled a fully AI-native version of its mobile application at its flagship technology event, ixigo NEXT. The redesigned app integrates artificial intelligence across the entire user experience, moving beyond transactional bookings to become a conversational, intuitive travel companion.

At the heart of the new app is TARA, reimagined as a multimodal AI assistant that plans, books, and acts for users. Unlike traditional chatbots, TARA is embedded into the app's core experience and can handle complex, intent-driven queries. Users can interact naturally in English, Hindi, or Hinglish via voice, text, or tap.

The app introduces Trip Mode, consolidating all post-booking information into one view. From boarding passes and gate details to baggage belt updates and real-time alerts, Trip Mode ensures travellers are prepared at every stage. It even suggests when to leave for the airport based on live traffic and offers personalised content recommendations during journeys.

TARA goes beyond search filters, understanding prompts like "show me hotels in Dubai with an infinity pool and a view of the Burj Khalifa" or even contextual requests such as "Hi TARA, I forgot my anniversary, help me!" to deliver personalized recommendations. It also proactively assists users by tracking flight schedules, managing cancellations, processing refunds, and surfacing real-time travel updates.

Ixigo also unveiled Agentic Travel Flows, where AI agents autonomously perform travel tasks in the background. These agents can send boarding passes directly to WhatsApp, update them in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, and coordinate with hotels ahead of check-in. They monitor flight schedules, alert users to delays, and manage refunds seamlessly. All agentic features are opt-in, ensuring users remain in control.

Speaking at the launch, Group Co-CEO Rajnish Kumar and Group CEO Aloke Bajpai said: "With the new AI-native version of our app, we are reimagining travel as a conversational, intuitive, and deeply personalized experience powered by AI. We believe the future of travel will be agent-led, with AI that can understand intent, take proactive actions, and assist travelers seamlessly before, during, and after their trips."

The launch builds on Ixigo's broader AI push. Last month, the company launched ChatGPT apps across Ixigo, AbhiBus and ConfirmTkt and said earlier this year it was working with OpenAI on autonomous agents and AI-assisted workflows.

Independent reporting from Phocuswire corroborates the timeline and scope of the changes, noting the permission-based nature of many agentic features.

The physical reality of using this system matters. Instead of navigating through multiple screens to find your boarding pass, you tap once on Trip Mode and everything appears. The friction of travel—the constant checking of emails, the anxiety about gate changes, the mental load of coordinating with hotels—gets offloaded to background processes (which is a relief, given how many apps currently demand your attention at once).

Whether this actually reduces travel anxiety or just adds another layer of dependency remains to be seen. The technology is impressive, but the real test comes when flights get cancelled at 2 AM and you need a human to fix something the AI can't handle.

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