Manulife has become the first insurer in Canada to offer travel insurance quotes directly within ChatGPT, the company announced Monday.

The new CoverMe plugin lets Canadians explore travel insurance options and generate a personalized quote from within the OpenAI chatbot. Manulife called it the first travel insurance plugin of its kind in Canada and the company's first plugin in ChatGPT globally.

"Being a trusted travel companion means showing up for Canadians throughout their journey – not just when they need to submit a claim," said Pamela Wong, head of affinity at Manulife. "By bringing CoverMe Travel to ChatGPT, we're meeting travellers where they're already researching and planning their trips, making it easier to explore their coverage options and plan with confidence."

Customers who enable the plugin answer a series of questions about their trip, and the plugin generates a personalized quote. They can then complete their application and purchase through CoverMe.com. Travellers whose needs require additional information are directed to CoverMe.com for a more tailored quote. The launch supports both English and French, and was developed in line with Manulife's Responsible AI Principles.

"AI is changing how people discover, compare and make decisions, including how they plan for travel," said Jamie Campbell, head of AI Canada at Manulife. "This launch – Manulife's first plugin in ChatGPT globally – demonstrates how we're using innovation to help Canadians access the information, products and support they need with greater ease and confidence."

Jodie Wallis, Manulife's chief AI officer, framed the move as part of a broader shift in how customers shop. "Agentic commerce is quickly becoming a customer preference to find and choose products, and that shift is global," she said, referring to the growing practice of using AI assistants to research, compare and buy products directly inside a chat conversation, rather than visiting separate websites. "We've spent the past several years building the AI and data foundations to move at this speed, and this is the first time we're putting them directly in front of customers in a conversational channel. The foundations behind it are enterprise-wide, so what we learn here compounds across our markets."

Part of a wider industry shift

Manulife's plugin follows OpenAI's move earlier this year to open ChatGPT to insurance quoting. In February, OpenAI approved its first insurance apps, from Spanish home insurer Tuio and US auto insurance comparison platform Insurify. The platform later said ChatGPT-referred traffic to its platform grew 151% and revenue from those visits grew 212% in the six months following its February launch, with the share of new customers discovering the brand through ChatGPT rising from 0.15% to 5.7% year over year.

The launch builds on Manulife's recent recognition for AI maturity. The company was ranked the top life insurer globally for AI maturity for a second consecutive year in the 2026 Evident AI Index for Insurance, which assesses 30 major North American and European insurers across talent, innovation, leadership and transparency. Manulife ranked third overall among all insurers in the index and first in the leadership category, behind only Allianz and AXA in the full ranking, Insurance Business reported.

Manulife is a Toronto-headquartered financial services provider operating as Manulife across Canada and Asia and as John Hancock in the United States.