I was asking GPT about a trip to the Grand Canyon as a part of a demonstration today, and I didn’t read what it actually responded at the time.  I was just closing open tabs in my browser,  and I read a bit of it before closing the tab and after the usual travel tips like use flexible travel dates, consider alternative airports, take budget airlines… the last one really got my attention:

“Clear your cookies: Some airlines and flight comparison websites use cookies to track your browsing history and raise prices if they see that you’re interested in a particular route. Clearing your cookies can help you avoid this price hike.”

I knew that my interest in a particular destination was noted – as my browser will become crowded with ads about the place I was investigating, but it never occured to me that the would start offering me higher costs just because it knows I want to go there.

That is like knowing that a car that is approaching your gas station is runing on no gas, and raising the cost just before you coast into the station.