In a world of AI travel planning apps, a startup called Boop aims to redefine the space with a new approach that turns social recommendations into bookable itineraries. The app gives users access to itineraries of real people who have actually traveled, rather than getting randomly generated travel plans by AI.
When someone goes on a trip, Boop uses AI to quickly turn that trip into an itinerary that others can copy and customize, primarily by looking at location data and metadata from photos they’ve shared in the app. The idea is to build a network of shared itineraries that people can monetize, giving travel creators another way to earn money from recommendations.
The startup was founded in February by Nancy Li Smith, who previously led AR/VR innovation at Meta and Microsoft and served as executive vice president of growth and strategy at physical AI startup BrightAI.
Smith came up with the idea for Boop after feeling like there was no way to efficiently remember and share his travel recommendations.
She also wanted to address the stress and emotional labor that comes with travel planning, especially since women make about 80% of travel decisions and often feel pressured to make every trip perfect.
“Women are almost always the planners of relationships, families, and friend groups,” Smith said in an interview with TechCrunch. “There’s pressure to make every trip great, not just for you and your partner, but also for your family and friends. All the emotional and logistical labor you’ve put in over the years is free. Boop is now solving this problem and making it easy for people to record this without having to do anything.”
Instead of searching for recommendations on TikTok, digging through hundreds of reviews, or pinning ideas to Google Maps, users have access to tested, loved itineraries created by creators and friends.
tech crunch event
san francisco
|
October 13-15, 2026
“Boop is the first AI travel companion built on social trust,” said Smith. “What that means is that the moment you go on a trip and start exploring and walking around, Boop basically remembers that trip in the background, so all your stops, photos, and reservations are in the background turning this into a beautiful, shoppable itinerary that your friends can actually use.”
“Instead of planning from scratch (which can take weeks), you can now just copy a friend’s actual itinerary for a trip to Tokyo or Paris, chat with the AI with one tap, and customize it to make it your own in minutes.”
When a user starts “capturing” a trip, the app will track their movements in the background, much like a fitness app would track steps or running routes, if the user has given the app permission. The company says Boop’s AI doesn’t use location data for anything other than recording your trips and providing recommendations. For example, if users share an interest in art and live in the 11th arrondissement of Paris, Boop might direct them to Atelier des Lumières.
In the future, with your permission, Boop will integrate with your calendar to access your existing reservations and add them to your itinerary.
Smith says Boop not only helps when planning a trip, but also while traveling. For example, if you’re standing in the middle of Tokyo at 11 p.m., Boop will suggest things to do based on your preferences and your friends’ recommendations.
Boop was released on mobile on Tuesday and is currently available by invitation only. The company currently has a public waiting list for users to join.
Smith said Boop is already offering early access to some travel creators whose trips people want to emulate. The startup has already received interest from creators who are looking for a way to share their travels and earn money from their recommendations. Creators can share their travels with their followers through “Boop with me” links, which include affiliate links.
“When a user copies a link and makes a reservation, we automatically integrate industry affiliate commission APIs and earn an industry standard 10-25% commission, with half of that going back to the creator,” Smith said. “That means $50 to $100 per copy. And if you’re an influencer with 100,000 followers and 100 people copy this, that’s a five-figure (or) six-figure income down the road.”
Boop works with hotel and experience affiliate aggregators and uses APIs to access affiliate reservation inventory from platforms such as Expedia, Booking.com, Marriott, and Viator.
Smith said Boop is fortunate to have support from leaders at TripAdvisor, Marriott and Expedia, who understand travel and consumer behavior. Notable investors include Stephen Kaufer, co-founder and former CEO of TripAdvisor, and Stephanie Linnertz, former president of Marriott International.
On the funding front, Boop raised $3.2 million in pre-seed funding co-led by Bling Capital and BBG Ventures in May.
Looking to the future, Boop wants to be the go-to place to book travel, especially as research shows Gen Z is less likely to consider travel as a discretionary expense.
“What our team has talked about internally over the last five years is that when someone wants to plan a trip, we won’t say check out the reviews, we’ll say copy my Boop,” Smith said. “And every real trip becomes a guide, every memory becomes a new currency.”
