Lesson

Claude Duet couldn't book a rental car in 3 days

The poster says Claude Duet spent three days trying to find them a rental car: five rounds, five different "cheapest" answers and nothing booked. Claude running in their own Chrome browser did it in eight minutes. Their explanation is that rental sites let in their own browser but not the agent's. Many travel and booking sites block or slow down automated cloud browsers, so an agent can keep circling without reaching a real price. If an agent keeps giving you changing answers on a booking site, switch to a tool that uses your own browser, or ask it for a shortlist and book it yourself.

AgentClaude Cowork
Step-by-step guidePlan a trip with an AI agent: flights, a hotel and a budget

The lesson: Booking sites often block an agent's cloud browser. If answers keep changing, use an agent that runs in your own browser, or book the shortlist yourself.

Copy this prompt

Find me a rental car in [CITY] from [PICKUP DATE AND TIME] to [RETURN DATE AND TIME], [CAR SIZE], picking up at [LOCATION]. Check [2 OR 3 SITES] and give me the 3 cheapest total prices including taxes and fees, with the cancellation policy for each. If a site won't load or blocks you, say so instead of guessing. Don't book or enter payment details without asking me.

Our own prompt, written from what the source describes. We haven't run it ourselves. Text in [BRACKETS] is what you replace.

Watch out for

  • Compare the total with taxes and airport fees, not the daily rate.
  • Check whether your credit card or car insurance already covers rental damage before you buy the counter cover.

Where this comes from

Original post by @A_Intimidating on X, Nov 10, 2026. We rewrote it in our own words. Check the original for the full context.

Read the original

Want to do this yourself?

Our guide compares which agents can do this job, with steps and a prompt.

Trips & travel4 agents compared

Plan a trip with an AI agent: flights, a hotel and a budget

Give an agent your dates, budget and home airport, and it can put together a few complete trip options with flights, a hotel and a total. Here is which agents people use and how to check their work before you book.

ManusChatGPT WorkGensparkMeta Muse
Which agent for this job
Keep going

More like this

LessonTrips & travel

United Airlines bans personal AI agents from booking

United Airlines said on November 11 that it is banning personal AI agents from making reservations for travelers. It says sharing your login with a third-party assistant can expose your information and lead to purchases, account changes or MileagePlus miles being used without you meaning to. It also says letting a bot check you in could break federal rules, such as confirming yourself that your bags hold no banned items. United is restricting unauthorized agents on its own website and app, and through travel agencies and booking sites. An analyst told CBS News that United fares stay bookable through sites like Kayak, Hopper and Google Flights.

PromptI'm flying from [CITY] to [CITY] on [DATES]. Search all airlines, including United, and show me the 3 best...

Meta MuseChatGPT WorkGrok Bot
Copy prompt
Megan Cerullo on CBS News · Nov 11, 2026
Real use caseTrips & travel

Grok Bot sat on hold with an airline to add a pet

The poster needed his puppy added to a flight as a pet in the cabin, the kind of change many airlines still handle by phone. He says Grok Bot called the airline, pressed through the phone menu and waited on hold until a person picked up, then transferred the live call to his cell so he could finish it himself. The dog is now on the ticket, and he says it took about 5 minutes of his own time instead of the 45 he expected to spend on hold.

PromptCall [AIRLINE] at [PHONE NUMBER] about my booking [CONFIRMATION CODE] on [DATE]. I want to add [MY DOG, A 12...

Grok Bot
Copy prompt
@sortofadev on X · Nov 11, 2026
Real use caseTrips & travel

A Hermes Agent plugin that plans where to stay

For the Hermes Agent plugin hackathon, Omimi built Picky, a plugin that keeps hotel hunting inside Hermes instead of jumping between booking sites and map apps. He says it picks a good place to stay right now or plans future stays, sets up a Booking.com or Airbnb stay for you to confirm, shows ride options with rough fares, and drafts the message to the hotel and the ride plan. When it can't confirm something, it gives an estimate and tells you where to check. Nothing is booked or paid without you, and it stores no location, passwords or cards. It's a community hackathon plugin, not an official Hermes feature, so treat it as a preview.

PromptI need a place to stay in [CITY] from [CHECK-IN] to [CHECK-OUT] for [NUMBER] people, budget [AMOUNT] a night,...

Hermes Agent
Copy prompt
@Decentralpapi on X · Nov 10, 2026