ixigo Launches 'Smart Lock' - An Agentic AI That Autonomously Monitors and Locks Flight Fares Within Your Budget

ixigo, India’s leading AI-based travel platform, today announced the launch of Smart Lock, an industry-first, agentic AI-powered feature that monitors eligible flight fares 24x7 in the background against a traveller’s target budget, helping them secure flights within their desired budget and enhancing peace of mind while booking flights.

What it is
- An agentic AI-powered feature that continuously monitors flight fares against a traveler’s target budget.
- Available for domestic one-way flights in India.
- When a matching fare is found, Smart Lock locks it for 4 hours and notifies the user, giving them time to book.

How it works
- Travelers enter destination, dates, and budget.
- Pay a Smart Lock fee starting at ₹99.
- If no fare is found within budget, the fee is refunded as ixigo money (redeemable on future bookings).
- Users can track Smart Locks in the My Trips section, with visibility into current fares, historical price movements, and search status.

Differentiator vs conventional tools
- Fare alerts: Only notify about price changes.
- Price locks: Freeze a fare against future fluctuations.
- Smart Lock: Actively hunts fares within budget and proactively secures them.

Strategic impact
- Reduces uncertainty and “fare-check fatigue” for travelers.
- Strengthens ixigo’s positioning as an AI-native travel app focused on peace of mind.
- Adds to ixigo’s suite of agentic AI products aimed at saving time, money, and effort.

This is a clever move because it shifts the burden of monitoring volatile fares from the traveler to AI agents, making booking more predictable and budget-aligned.