United Airlines Updates Contract to Ban AI Agent Ticketing and Bookings

On 11 November 2026, United updated its Contract of Carriage with new rules that explicitly bar the use of AI Agents to create, modify, or service a Ticket, and to purchase any service or product. Under Rule 6.J.6, the restriction applies broadly. It covers any AI assistant, agent, or AI-enabled browser, regardless of whether the Passenger or another individual supervises or approves what the tool does, so manual oversight does not make an automated booking permissible.

A second provision, Rule 5.H, gives United the authority to cancel any reservation that an AI Agent has touched. Together, the two rules establish a clear mechanism: the prohibition defines which automated activities are out of bounds, and the cancellation clause provides the means to act when a booking falls into that category.

By the time the topic appeared on DEV Community on 13 November 2026, United had already moved the update into force, with the revised Contract of Carriage in place and the ban on AI Agent bookings and changes, along with the right to cancel non-compliant reservations, sitting at the current operational state.