Rose Brooks

Episode 717 – RTW Planning Part 4: Our A.I. Concierge

Now that our air and land transportation and our accommodations are finalized, it’s time to start looking in more detail at what kinds of things we can do in each of the places we’ll be visiting.

We have lots of resources: well-travelled friends, Facebook travel groups (Senior Nomads and Rick Steves’ groups are particularly useful), and of course Google Maps and Wikipedia. Our newest – and quickly becoming our favourite – resource is Microsoft Copilot, an Artificial Intelligence Chatbot, who (when asked) describes itself as “a super-smart sidekick”.

Ted has been a convert for a while, “talking” to Copilot, which answers in such a lifelike way – complete with pauses and idioms – that I sometimes think he’s on the phone or video-chatting with a real person.

I’ve mainly enjoyed using it to create images, like the one below where I asked it to turn a shipboard holiday photo of Ted and me into Peanuts-style comic characters

That does seem like a trivial thing to ask a “super-smart sidekick” to do, though, so today I started to use Copilot for something more interesting and complex: travel plans.

I started with a destination that I had chosen mostly as a mid-point between two others, and as a chance for some pampering and relaxation: Rethymno, Crete.

Normally, I would use Google maps to plot our hotel, and then look around to see what’s in the vicinity before heading to Google to research each attraction.

This time, I asked Copilot “Can you suggest things to do and see in Rethymno Crete during the month of April?”

I got back: “Good afternoon, Rose! April is a wonderful time to explore Rethymno, Crete – mild weather, blooming landscapes, and vibrant cultural experiences await. Here’s a curated list of things to do and see, with a mix of nature, history, and local charm:” That was followed by a list of 8 locations, each with a description and map.

The suggestions were automatically followed by the offer of more help. My questions/responses are in the pale pink bubbles. The rest is Copilot. Notice that I gave only the hotel’s name in my request. Copilot then generated an answer that included a map pf our hotel’s location.

Notice the continued offer of assistance at the bottom of the thread. It really is like dealing with a very professional concierge.

Since we have a week in Rethymno, we won’t be trying to pack all that into a single day, but I’ll admit that I was particularly impressed with the gelato break and the restaurant recommendations!

Copilot is actually intended as a coding/programming resource, unlike ChatGPT which, as its name suggests, is “chattier”, and intended more for general knowledge queries. On the only occasion during this planning process when we compared the two I preferred Copilot’s still friendly but more focussed approach. I do enough chatting for both of us.

We have 23 separate stays planned on our 2026 trip.

I think I’ll be “talking” to Copilot a lot.

In Chefchaouen Morocco, October 2023.
Ted always says I can talk to anyone, even of they’re in a mural,
so why not A.I. ?

11 comments

  1. Thanks Rose, and Ted, of course… Never thought to use Copilot. New to me! We are heading to Holland in September to catch up with Vince, who was deployed to Latvia in June. We are travelling with Steph and Toddler Hannah, so this easy information guide will come in very handy as we go from place to place.
    Much appreciated.
    You are a wealth of information. No wonder you get little sleep. Your mind must be racing at all times, to make the most of your travels and time away.
    Sending you a big hug.
    Marita

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  3. I admit to being extremely leery of AI in general, though not a Luddite. I’m sad about the overall loss of person to person contact in our daily lives — automatic check outs and shopping from the home computer. That said — this looks extremely useful, especially to those of us who would not be staying in a hotel with concierge services or who want to plan much more in advance. I’ll give it a try for our 3 nights post Viking in Buenos Aires in December! Thanks for posting such a complete look at it.

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    • I was leery at first, but Ted was an early adopter. I agree though that it’s sad when my computer is more helpful than the person at the concierge desk. And I’m really not a fan of self-checkouts and the resulting loss of human jobs.

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  5. My favorite AI is Gemini. I gave it your prompt “Can you suggest things to do and see in Rethymno Crete during the month of April?” and here’s what it came up with. Some overlap and some differences. I think that using two (or more) AIs would be more complete, and they would be a check on each other.

    ____________________

    Based on the location of the Pepi Boutique Hotel, many of the suggestions are very close or easily accessible. The hotel is situated in Rethymno’s Old Town, making it an excellent base for exploring the city’s historical sites.

    Here is a breakdown of the proximity of the suggested attractions to your hotel:

    Within Easy Walking Distance:

    • Rethymno Old Town: The hotel is located directly in the Old Town, so you can step right out and begin exploring its charming streets, Venetian architecture, and local shops.
    • Fortezza of Rethymno: This historic fortress is a short and pleasant walk from the hotel. Its location on a hill makes for a great walk and offers fantastic views of the city.
    • Archaeological Museum of Rethymno: The museum is also located within the Old Town, a very short walk from the Pepi Boutique Hotel.

    Day Trips from Rethymno:

    • Arkadi Monastery: The monastery is located about 14 miles (23 km) southeast of Rethymno, so you would need transportation to get there.
    • Kourtaliotiko Gorge & Preveli Beach: The gorge is about 16 miles (25 km) south of Rethymno, with Preveli Beach a bit further south. These are excellent options for a day trip to explore the natural beauty of the region.

    The map below shows the locations of the hotel and the suggested attractions to help you visualize the distances.

    [Map was copied but not pasted here.]

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    • The similarities are interesting! I’ll admit to having a personal preference for the “bullet point” format and embedded links, but using more than one is certainly a good idea!

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  6. Am I the only one that noticed that when copilot created the image of you and Ted as Bond types, Ted’s clothes changed, he had a gun in his hand, etc., but you didn’t change at all. Because you already had the look of someone working for the CIA or MI-5?

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