Instinct says travel drives over half its transactions

Founder Noah Shinn says travel makes up most activity on Instinct as the invite-only AI agent platform approaches $1 billion in annual transactions.

Instinct, an invite-only AI agent platform, says travel has become its biggest use case. Founder Noah Shinn said on a recent podcast that more than half of all transactions on the service are tied to trip bookings, a sign of how quickly AI tools are moving into everyday travel planning.

Shinn also said the company is approaching $1 billion in annual transactions, though he did not explain how that figure is calculated. He described Instinct as growing 10% day by day, with transaction volume increasing at a similar pace. According to IT-PUB News, those comments put travel at the center of Instinct’s current activity.

Travel now leads activity on Instinct

Travel’s dominance on Instinct stands out because it shows one of the clearest real-world uses for AI agents so far. Booking flights, hotels, and last-minute trips is the kind of task many users seem willing to hand over to software that can compare options and respond quickly.

Shinn said traditional travel websites and agencies still do the basic job of bringing airlines, hotel chains, and other services together in one place. But he argued that Instinct offers a better experience because users can describe what they need in plain language — for example, saying they need to be in New York that same night.

That helps explain why the platform is drawing attention. The appeal is not automation alone, but a more direct way to handle a stressful, time-sensitive task.

Shinn says Instinct could expand into reservations

Travel was only part of Shinn’s broader argument. He also suggested Instinct could change how restaurant reservations work, saying the current system often depends on first-come, first-served access and does not account for why someone wants the table.

In his view, an AI agent could keep checking restaurant availability and alert users when a slot opens up. He said the company wants to reinvent reservations and offer users preferential treatment.

Shinn described a scenario in which restaurants might prefer guests celebrating a special occasion, while users may be trying to book a table for an important personal event. That places Instinct in a wider debate over whether AI agents should simply automate bookings or actively help users gain an advantage in competitive reservation systems.

The reservation pitch raises trust and fairness concerns

That idea also brings obvious concerns. Some observers pointed out that an agent could falsely claim an anniversary or another special occasion just to secure a table, creating a risk of abuse if restaurants begin relying more heavily on such systems.

There is also a fairness question from the restaurant side. Some restaurants may prefer local patrons because they are repeat customers and bring regular business. That makes the idea of “preferential treatment” more complicated than it first appears.

The source does not say how Instinct plans to deal with those issues. Still, the discussion shows that once AI agents move beyond simple booking tasks, they quickly run into practical questions about trust, honesty, and who gets access to limited services first.

Instinct is growing fast and backed by major investors

Instinct’s momentum is also attracting attention because of the size of its latest funding round. The company recently raised $1 billion in Series C funding at a $10 billion valuation from Sequoia Capital, Benchmark Capital, and Coatue.

The startup is still relatively small, with 14 members, but it is competing in a crowded personal-agent market. The source says Instinct faces rivals including Meta’s Muse and Khosla-backed Wajo.

That mix of rapid growth, major backing, and a product direction that could prove contentious helps explain why Shinn’s remarks stood out. Travel bookings may be Instinct’s clearest use case today, but the broader challenge is whether the company can turn that demand into a wider reservations platform without deepening concerns over trust and fairness.