Travel planning in India just got a serious upgrade. Ixigo has completely rebuilt its app from the ground up with artificial intelligence at its core, introducing a smart assistant called TARA along with a suite of automation tools designed to handle everything from booking to boarding. Here is what you need to know before you start using it.
1. The App Is Built Differently This Time
Unlike typical apps that add AI features on top of existing systems, Ixigo rebuilt its entire platform specifically around AI. The result is an architecture trained on over one billion travel queries, capable of resolving nearly 90% of disruption-related issues without any human involvement. For context, traditional travel platforms manage only 20–30% of such situations automatically. Response times stay under two seconds, and the platform promises 99.9% uptime.
2. TARA: Your Multilingual Travel Companion
TARA is the face of this new experience. What sets her apart is the range of ways you can interact — voice, text, image uploads, or simple taps. She handles English, Hindi, and Hinglish fluently, so asking something like “kitna time lagega Delhi flight mein” works just as naturally as typing it in English.
More importantly, TARA understands context. She remembers your preferences — aisle seats, vegetarian meals, no red-eye flights — and applies them automatically. You can say “plan a Goa trip for two under ₹10,000 from Hyderabad” and receive a full itinerary with flights, hotels, and cabs, factoring in real-time prices and your travel history. Mid-conversation changes, like swapping to a morning flight, are handled smoothly without starting over.
3. Agentic Features: AI That Works Without Being Asked
This is the most significant shift in how the app functions. Background AI agents handle tasks independently, stepping in before you even realize something needs attention.
For example, if your flight is delayed, the app detects it, notifies you via WhatsApp or push notification, files a refund request, suggests alternative flights, and waits for your approval before rebooking. Your boarding pass gets automatically updated and pushed to Apple Wallet, Google Wallet, or Digi Yatra — all without manual input from you.
Agents also monitor weather disruptions, lounge eligibility, hotel early check-in windows, visa expiry dates, and even local events at your destination. A master agent coordinates specialists — one for flights, one for hotels, one for cab connections — so the entire journey stays synced.
4. Trip Mode: Everything in One Place
Once a booking is confirmed, Trip Mode becomes your travel command center. It brings together boarding passes, gate updates, baggage tracking, hotel status, expense tracking, and AI-generated suggestions in a single scrollable dashboard.
The nudges here are genuinely useful. The app might warn you that prices are rising 20% after a holiday weekend, suggest upgrading to business class based on your past long-haul bookings, or flag that your gate changed to 15 before you even check. For groups, there are shared itinerary views, role-based permissions, and UPI-linked bill splitting built right in.
5. India-First Design Choices
Several features show clear thinking about Indian travel realities. The app includes a low-data mode for users in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, offline voice capability, regional festival integrations like Diwali travel packages, and IRCTC connectivity for train bookings alongside flights, buses, and hotels.
6. Pricing and What Comes Next
The core app is free on both iOS and Android. For users who want unrestricted access to agentic features, a plan at ₹49 per month removes query limits. Enterprise options with API access are available for travel agencies and corporate clients.
Coming later in 2026: Android Auto and CarPlay integration planned for June, corporate policy-compliant booking tools, and a tokenized loyalty rewards system for frequent users.
Final Verdict
Ixigo’s rebuild is one of the more meaningful AI launches in Indian travel tech. TARA is genuinely helpful rather than gimmicky, and the agentic features solve real frustrations around delays and disruptions. The app earns serious attention — especially for frequent flyers based out of major Indian cities.