United Airlines announced a ban on third-party personal AI agents, including Meta's Muse and OpenAI's dots, from booking flights or accessing customer accounts, citing security risks and potential violations of federal regulations. The carrier warned that sharing credentials with these assistants exposes sensitive personal and payment data, risks unintended purchases or MileagePlus mileage changes, and could breach rules requiring in-person verification of luggage contents during check-in. United is updating its booking and ticketing policies to restrict access across its digital platforms, travel agencies, and aggregators. Aviation analyst Henry Harteveldt noted the move reflects United's desire to control the booking process and avoid costs associated with a surge in AI bot flight searches, distinguishing its approach from competitors like Southwest, which has opened its inventory to ChatGPT users. Harteveldt added that United fares remain bookable through standard aggregators such as Kayak, Hopper, and Google Flights, so consumer fare access is unaffected, though the restriction prevents potential streamlining via AI intermediaries.