Find off-the-radar stops along a 5,600 km road trip with ChatGPT o3

Posted

Aug 11, 2025 by Ameya Avasare (@gitpushoriginm8)

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Last checked

Oct 18, 2026

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Method:

How we verify

Evidence: Described by posterThe person describes what happened in words, without screenshots or video.

Context: The poster works at an AI company (Anthropic) and was describing a different company's chatbot.

Outcome

Planning a week-long road trip from Chicago to San Francisco via Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, the poster gave ChatGPT o3 a rough route, the things they wanted to see and questions in XML format, then refined the daily plans and switched part of the route. Asking 'is there anything to see between [x] and [y]' surfaced places they'd never heard of, including the Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Dauphin Island and its car ferry, and Saguaro and Guadalupe Mountains national parks, which they count among the best parts of the trip.

Agent

ChatGPT

The source didn't share its exact prompt, so we wrote this from what it describes.

Let's work this out together. I'll tell you what I know, you suggest options and ask what you need, and we'll narrow it down step by step. Nothing gets booked, bought or sent until I say so.

Goal: Help me plan a long road trip and find worthwhile stops I wouldn't know about along each stretch.

What I'll share as we go:
- Rough route and start/end dates
- Themes I care about (history, national parks, food, oddities)
- How many hours a day I'm happy to drive

Rules:
- Start with a day-by-day outline, then go stretch by stretch.
- For each stretch, suggest a few stops between the two towns, with the detour time.
- Say why each stop is worth it in one line.
- If a different route would fit my interests better, suggest it and explain the trade-off.
- Ask for my OK before you pay, book, send, submit or cancel anything.
- Check facts that can change (prices, opening hours, dates, availability, rules) against the official source, and tell me anything you couldn't verify.

Output: A day-by-day plan with stops, detour times and overnight towns.

You'll know it worked when: each day has a stop I'm excited about and stays within my driving limit.

Let's work this out together. I'll tell you what I know, you suggest options and ask what you need, and we'll narrow it down step by step. Nothing gets booked, bought or sent until I say so.

Goal: Help me plan a long road trip and find worthwhile stops I wouldn't know about along each stretch.

What I'll share as we go:
- Rough route and start/end dates
- Themes I care about (history, national parks, food, oddities)
- How many hours a day I'm happy to drive

Rules:
- Start with a day-by-day outline, then go stretch by stretch.
- For each stretch, suggest a few stops between the two towns, with the detour time.
- Say why each stop is worth it in one line.
- If a different route would fit my interests better, suggest it and explain the trade-off.
- Ask for my OK before you pay, book, send, submit or cancel anything.
- Check facts that can change (prices, opening hours, dates, availability, rules) against the official source, and tell me anything you couldn't verify.
- Mark anything that needs advance tickets or has limited opening days.

Output: A day-by-day plan with stops, detour times and overnight towns.

You'll know it worked when: each day has a stop I'm excited about and stays within my driving limit.

Before you finish: re-read my goal and constraints, check your answer against each one, and list anything you assumed or couldn't confirm.

Source

https://x.com/gitpushoriginm8/status/1955009180311707972