Trump’s AI Framework Aims to Shift States’ Authority — But Misses Travel’s Biggest Pressure Point

The Trump administration’s new AI framework would bar states from regulating AI development — a potential win for travel companies building chatbots, agents, and automation. But it leaves untouched one big regulatory fight: how companies price travel.

The framework backs a unified federal approach under the Federal Trade Commission, rather than a patchwork of state rules, which could ease compliance for AI innovators. The Travel Technology Association’s president and CEO Laura Chadwick called digital fragmentation one of the industry’s “most persistent” obstacles and said the association backs the framework’s direction.

But that support has limits. Consumer protection rules remain under state control — meaning if a state labels a hotel’s pricing algorithm predatory, federal preemption doesn’t apply. 

As