Case Study 02
AI Travel
Companion
Client
Travel startup, The Gambia
Timeline
3 weeks, 3 milestones
Scope
Full MVP — design to deployment
Languages (EN, FR, PT)
MVP features delivered
Conversational interface
Itinerary export
The Problem
Travel planning tools give answers. This one needed to give advice.
The founder envisioned an AI travel companion that didn't just list hotels and restaurants — it would act like a knowledgeable local friend who understands your budget, interests, and group dynamics, then proactively offers guidance throughout your trip.
The challenge: travel AI is a minefield of hallucination risk. Recommending a restaurant that closed two years ago, or a “safe neighborhood” that isn't, could destroy trust immediately. Every recommendation needed real-time web validation before reaching the user.
What We Built
Eleven features. Three weeks. Zero hallucinations.
Conversational AI Chat
Natural dialogue with a "knowledgeable friend" personality, not a search engine
Smart Destination Engine
Budget-aware, interest-matched recommendations with pros/cons and vibe summaries
Itinerary Builder
Structured Morning / Afternoon / Evening plans with local timing awareness
Web Search + Validation
Every recommendation cross-checked against live sources before delivery
Resident Mode
Dual functionality for travelers and locals to contribute knowledge
Persistent Memory
Remembers preferences, past conversations, and trip history across sessions
3-Language Support
English, French, and Portuguese — covering West African market
Cultural Intelligence
Food recommendations, local etiquette, safety notes, seasonal awareness
Analytics Dashboard
User counts, popular destinations, conversation volume, API usage tracking
PDF Itinerary Export
Beautifully formatted trip plans users can print or share
Responsive Web App
Works seamlessly across desktop, tablet, and mobile
Tech Stack
Next.js
Full-stack web application
Claude API
Conversational AI engine
RAG Pipeline
Knowledge retrieval + context
Web Search API
Real-time validation layer
Supabase
User data + memory persistence
PDF Generation
Itinerary export system
i18n
3-language interface
Vercel
Edge deployment
The Outcome
The MVP was delivered in 3 weeks with all 11 features functional. The founder now has a working AI travel companion that validates every recommendation against live web data before presenting it to users — eliminating the hallucination risk that plagues most travel AI.
The system supports English, French, and Portuguese from day one, covering the West African travel market. Users can export beautifully formatted PDF itineraries and the persistent memory system means the AI gets smarter with every conversation.
“Looking for a developer to help with the backend” turned into a full MVP delivered ahead of schedule.
Founder, Travel Startup — The Gambia
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