Manulife has launched a CoverMe plugin in ChatGPT that lets eligible Canadian travellers explore travel insurance and receive a personalized quote without leaving the AI platform.
The company described the launch as a first-of-its-kind plugin in ChatGPT and Manulife's first ChatGPT plugin globally. It is available to eligible travellers buying CoverMe Travel Insurance and works in both English and French.
Users enable the plugin and answer a series of questions about their trip, and it then generates a quote. The application and purchase are completed on CoverMe.com, and travellers whose needs require more information or coverage options are also directed there for a more tailored quote.
"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, Manulife's head of affinity. "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."
Manulife said the plugin was developed under its Responsible AI Principles, and it presented the launch as a test of AI capabilities built across the whole company.
"Agentic commerce is quickly becoming a customer preference to find and choose products, and that shift is global," said Jodie Wallis, Manulife's chief artificial intelligence officer. "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."
For the second year running, Manulife has been ranked the top life insurer in North America and Europe for AI maturity in the Evident AI Insurance Index.
CoverMe is Manulife's direct and affinity brand, so the plugin gives the insurer a new direct channel that reaches travellers at the planning stage, before they visit an insurer's site or a comparison platform.
Manulife also distributes travel cover through intermediaries. It launched a streamlined platform for travel agents in August 2025. The question for travel advisors and brokers is how far quoting inside AI assistants shifts where the purchase decision begins. Wallis's comments suggest Manulife sees this launch as a starting point it intends to build on, and competing carriers are likely to watch whether it converts.
