United says no to AI agents booking your flight
Last Friday, we saw agents move into our banks, jobs and trips. Now one airline pushes back. United says it won't let personal AI assistants book tickets, citing privacy and regulatory concerns, The Wall Street Journal reports. United says few people try it yet, like DoorDash has also seen. The story got 556 points and 547 comments on Hacker News.
The big question is permission. China introduced standards in 2026 for how agents identify themselves, talk to each other and access services. One example: an agent allowed to fill a shopping basket is not allowed to pay unless the user agrees.
On GitHub, a new project called pinky lets AI agents use your phone, with you in the loop to approve. It got 1,937 stars in its first days.
When an agent books the wrong flight or pays the wrong bill, who is responsible: you, the agent maker, or the airline? Companies are starting to draw lines before the law does. Bon, my agent will have to wait at the counter like the rest of us.
