Don’t trust AI blindly.
Travelers, this is another reminder: for any official information, do not rely on ChatGPT or other AI tools. Go directly to government websites. An influencer learned this the hard way after an answer she believed to be true from the AI assistant led to her missing her flight.
Spanish content creator Mery Caldass, who has nearly 100,000 followers on TikTok, shared the unfortunate story of missing her flight through tears. She was traveling with her boyfriend, Alejandro Cid, to Puerto Rico for a Bad Bunny concert and asked ChatGPT for visa advice. The AI assistant told her that she did not require a visa to travel to the United States. This is correct—European citizens don’t need to apply for a visa if they’re traveling to the U.S. for tourism for less than 90 days—but they still require Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) approval. That was the detail the influencer missed. The couple did not have the approval, so they could not board the flight. “That’s what I get for not getting more information,” she said in Spanish while still at the airport.
@merycaldasssi hay una revolución de las IAs voy a ser la primera 4niquil-hada🧚♀️♬ sonido original – Mery Caldass
Related: Beware of Using AI for Travel Planning. A Lot Can Go Wrong
The influencer also joked that she sometimes insults the chatbot, and it might have exacted revenge on her. “I don’t trust that one anymore because sometimes I insult him. I call him a bastard, you’re useless, but inform me well… that’s his revenge.”
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In the end, the couple eventually made it to their destination. But as a reminder, the ESTA application can be completed online for a fee of $21, and it takes only minutes to get approval. Apply for it at least 72 hours before departure; it may be valid for two years (unless revoked) or until your passport expires.
Note that it is exclusively for tourism purposes. If your visit includes anything other than tourism, you must obtain appropriate visas and approvals. Many travelers have been detained or deported for not having the right documentation while trying to enter the country, including for pet-sitting and house-sitting jobs.
Related: Not Having the Right Visa Can Get You in Hot Water. These Travelers Found Out the Hard Way
Comments on the TikTok post are divided, with many questioning why she didn’t verify this information online and others empathizing with her. Reddit users also weighed in, discussing how AI-generated results are dominating Google searches and how official information is being buried. A highly upvoted comment by Key-Ingenuity-534 said, “GUYS… stop relying on ChatGPT for everything! It literally says ‘ChatGPT can be wrong.’ Take that statement to heart for f–ks sake.”
Related: I Let A.I. Plan My Entire Family Road Trip. And It Was … Fine
ChatGPT is, in fact, wrong many times. In a recent incident, a 60-year-old man replaced table salt (sodium chloride) with sodium bromide, a toxic substance, after taking ChatGPT’s advice. The man was trying to eliminate salt from his diet but ended up poisoning himself and spent three weeks in the hospital due to bromide toxicity. AI should not be used for any medical advice, either, and the AI assistant itself recommends that people consult physicians for health-related concerns.