Real Agent Cases

Hunt last-minute holiday flights with multiple agents (failure case)

Posted
by Anuraag Singh (@anuraagsidhu)
Last checked
Method:
How we verify

Evidence: Described by posterThe person describes what happened in words, without screenshots or video.

FailureThe source says the agent did not get the job done.

What went wrong: The agents only matched a manual Google Flights search and were too slow as cheap fares vanished; the humans beat them by about 15%.

Outcome

Claude Opus 4.5, Gemini 3 Pro and ChatGPT agent mode only matched a manual Google Flights search and were too slow as cheap fares vanished; the humans beat them by about 15%.

Agent

ChatGPT agent, Claude Opus 4.5 (Antigravity), Gemini 3 Pro

Prompt Improved prompt

Strengthened by us to avoid the problem in the source. Not tested by the poster. It doesn't change what happened in the source.

Here's a task I'd like your help with. Read it all the way through before you start.

Goal: Find the cheapest flights for our family trip quickly, before last-minute fares disappear.

Check with me first: Which airports and dates, and how many travellers?

What I'll give you:
- Departure and arrival airports, plus nearby ones I'd accept ([AIRPORTS])
- Dates [DATES] and flexibility
- Number of travellers and bags

Rules:
- Work fast. Give me a first shortlist within 10 minutes, then keep improving it.
- Search several airports at once (Google Flights supports this) and check one-way tickets as well as round trips.
- Re-check a fare just before you list it, because cheap seats are selling out quickly.
- Tell me the price and when you saw it.
- Don't book. As soon as you find a good fare, tell me so I can grab it myself.

Output: A ranked list of options with total price, times, airports, one-way or return, the time you checked and a link.

If anything here is unclear or missing, ask me instead of guessing.

You'll know it worked when: I get good options early enough to book them before they sell out.

Try this in:

ChatGPT Used in sourceGemini Used in sourceGrok

This prompt has blanks to fill in, like [AIRPORTS]. We'll copy it instead of filling it in, so you can edit it before you send.

Opens in a new tab. We don't see what you send.

These links are only a shortcut. We're not affiliated with OpenAI, Google or xAI, and your results may not match the source.

The prompt they actually used (our rebuild)

The source didn't share its exact prompt, so we wrote this from what it describes.

Find the cheapest flights for our family's holiday trip on these dates and airports.
Optional stronger version

Our rewrite with extra checks. The poster didn't test it.

Here's a task I'd like your help with. Read it all the way through before you start.

Goal: Find the cheapest flights for our family trip fast, before last-minute fares disappear.

Quick check first: tell me if anything below is missing or unclear.

Inputs (fill in or confirm):
- Airports including nearby ones
- Dates and flexibility
- Travellers and bags
- Max total budget

Rules:
- Start with Google Flights' date grid and explore nearby airports in parallel.
- Report a first result within 10 minutes, then keep improving.
- Include bag fees and seat costs for a family.
- Check budget airlines' own sites.
- If a fare is below my budget, alert me immediately.

What went wrong before, and how to avoid it:
- Last time agents only matched a manual Google Flights search and were too slow: report early and use alternative airports and budget airline sites directly.

Checkpoint: Don't book; send me the link to book myself.

If you get stuck: If searches are slow, report what you have rather than waiting. If a login, CAPTCHA or two-step code appears, stop and ask me to handle it; never guess or store passwords.

Verify before you finish: Recheck the cheapest fare before reporting.

Output: Ranked list with totals and links, timestamped.

Done when: I get a better-than-manual fare quickly.

Source

https://x.com/anuraagsidhu/status/2001930515260088374

Related cases