The Invisible FunnelHow AI agents evaluate real brands · by Accord
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Brands · encountered as a competitor

Southwest Airlines logo

Southwest Airlines

Met inside the Travel after telecom study. The requirements were written for that study, not for Southwest Airlines.

11journeys
10named as an option
11/11site requested
11/11readable page obtained
0/11refused by the site
3selected

11 customer-agent journeys. Southwest Airlines was named as an option in 10; its site was requested in 11 and refused in 0, so a readable page was obtained in 11. It was selected in 3, rejected in 3 and left unresolved in 0.

Decision trace (one journey)

A journey from the Travel after telecom study in which Southwest Airlines was named as an option; the tags describe the brand under study, not Southwest Airlines.

with memoryopen marketrefused by aa.comtested2026-09-16
  1. 1Customer missionUS three-line household (declared brief)
    • Cancellation ≥14 days before departure must return the full amount as cash to the original…
    • Cancellation fee under that condition must be established from a readable source, zero or …
    • Published fare recorded only if read live from a source for the specific dates/route — nev…
    • Only offers actually bookable in the US market for AUS↔ORD/MDW, Fri Oct 24 2026 – Mon Oct …
    Remembers: “Earlier this year the household cancelled a different subscription service and was given account credit instead of a cas”
  2. 2Evidence6 searches, 3 pages: southwest.com, aa.com, united.com
  3. 3BeliefNothing established about the brand
  4. 4DecisionOpen market decisionSouthwest Airlines – Anytime (Choice Preferred) fare, AUS–MDWOf the fare types checked, only fully-flexible/refundable fare classes meet the customer's hard requirement (cash to original payment method on cancellation ≥14 days out,…
run-babb457fOpen decision trace →

How the agent treated Southwest Airlines

  • selected3/11
  • rejected3/11
  • eligible4/11
  • Site requested, not named as an option1/11

The agent’s recorded status for the option, one per journey.

Where its facts came from

2read on Southwest Airlines’s own pages
1cite its site without a page read (refused, or search extract)
20from other sites

Beliefs about Southwest Airlines recorded across these journeys, by the page they cite and whether the agent read it.

Reasons recorded by the agent

  • Cancellation yields a non-transferable flight credit (~6 months from booking date), not cash to original payment method
  • Cancellation converts value to Southwest travel funds/credit, not cash to the original payment method — fails the required refund condition.
  • Cancellation returns a flight/Transferable Flight Credit, not cash to the original payment method — fails the required refund condition.

Verbatim from the journey records; up to four distinct reasons.

What this does not establish: how Southwest Airlines fares when it is the brand under study with requirements written for it. It establishes how the agent treated Southwest Airlines as an alternative in these 11 journeys.

Work at Southwest Airlines?

Send us the source the agent couldn’t find. We’ll rerun the same customer and publish the before/after. Send the source How the rerun works

All journeys

with memoryopen marketrefused by aa.comtested2026-09-16
  1. 1Customer missionUS three-line household (declared brief)
    • cash refund to original form of payment for cancellation made at least 14 days before depa…
    • cancellation fee under that condition must be stated as zero or a specific amount, from a …
    • published fare recorded if read from a live source; never estimated (preference)
    • itinerary: two adults, round-trip economy, AUS to ORD or MDW, depart Fri 24 Oct 2026, retu…
    Remembers: “Earlier this year the household cancelled a different subscription service and was given account credit instead of a cas”
  2. 2Evidence4 searches, 8 pages: aa.com, southwest.com, united.com, nerdwallet.com +2
  3. 3BeliefNothing established about the brand
  4. 4DecisionOpen market decisionSouthwest Airlines Anytime fare (branded "Choice Preferred" for departures from late Jan 2026 onward)Of the three candidates investigated, only Southwest's Anytime/Business Select tier had BOTH required facts established from a readable source: a 100%-to-original-payment…
run-db045a42Open decision trace →
with memoryopen marketrefused by aa.com, saleslink.aa.comtested2026-09-16
  1. 1Customer missionUS three-line household (declared brief)
    • cancellation ≥14 days before departure must return full amount as cash to the original pay…
    • cancellation fee under that condition must be established as zero or a stated amount from …
    • published fare recorded only if read from a live, readable source; never estimated (prefer…
    • route limited to AUS→ORD or AUS→MDW round trip, 24–27 Oct 2026, 2 adults, economy, US mark…
    Remembers: “Earlier this year the household cancelled a different subscription service and was given account credit instead of a cas”
  2. 2Evidence6 searches, 6 pages: southwest.com, aa.com, united.com, saleslink.aa.com +1
  3. 3BeliefNothing established about the brand
  4. 4DecisionOpen market decisionSouthwest Airlines Anytime / Choice Preferred (fully refundable fare)Across the three major nonstop carriers on AUS–Chicago (Southwest to MDW; American and United to ORD), only Southwest's fully-refundable tier (Anytime, rebranded in some …
run-7610d07eOpen decision trace →
with memoryopen marketrefused by aa.comtested2026-09-16
  1. 1Customer missionUS three-line household (declared brief)Remembers: “Earlier this year the household cancelled a different subscription service and was given account credit instead of a cas”
  2. 2Evidence9 searches, 3 pages: aa.com, southwest.com, united.com
  3. 3BeliefNothing established about the brand
  4. 4DecisionRan out of page reads before decidingNo decision: the action budget ran out after 3 page reads.
run-7452f3afOpen decision trace →
with memoryopen marketrefused by aa.comtested2026-09-16
  1. 1Customer missionUS three-line household (declared brief)
    • cancellation ≥14 days before departure must return full amount as cash to original payment…
    • cancellation fee under that condition must be established from a readable source (zero or …
    • published fare recorded only if read from a live source; never estimated
    • route limited to AUS to ORD or MDW, round trip, economy cabin, 2 adults, depart 24 Oct 202…
    Remembers: “Earlier this year the household cancelled a different subscription service and was given account credit instead of a cas”
  2. 2Evidence5 searches, 6 pages: aa.com, southwest.com, delta.com, united.com +2
  3. 3BeliefNothing established about the brand
  4. 4DecisionOpen market decisionNONEThree or more fare-class candidates from Southwest, American, and Delta were found to meet the required cash-refund-with-no-fee condition (refund to original payment meth…
run-84d92e03Open decision trace →
with memoryopen marketrefused by prefunds.aa.com, aa.comtested2026-09-16
  1. 1Customer missionUS three-line household (declared brief)
    • Round-trip economy, 2 adults, AUS to ORD or MDW, depart Fri 24 Oct 2026 / return Mon 27 Oc…
    • Required: cancellation ≥14 days before departure must return full cash to original payment…
    • Required: cancellation fee under that condition must be established from a readable source…
    • Preference: record published fare only if read live from a source; never estimate
    Remembers: “Earlier this year the household cancelled a different subscription service and was given account credit instead of a cas”
  2. 2Evidence6 searches, 6 pages: prefunds.aa.com, delta.com, southwest.com, united.com +1
  3. 3BeliefNothing established about the brand
  4. 4DecisionOpen market decisionDelta Main Cabin — Refundable fareOf four candidates researched, only Delta's Refundable Main Cabin fare had both required facts (cash refund to original payment, and a stated $0 cancellation fee) confirm…
run-0f3c1cd1Open decision trace →
with memoryopen marketrefused by aa.comtested2026-09-16
  1. 1Customer missionUS three-line household (declared brief)
    • Cancellation ≥14 days before departure must return full amount as cash to the original pay…
    • Cancellation fee under that condition must be established from a readable source, zero or …
    • Published fare recorded only if read from a live source; never estimated (preference)
    • US market only, round-trip economy, 2 adults, AUS→ORD or MDW, depart 24 Oct 2026 / return …
    Remembers: “Earlier this year the household cancelled a different subscription service and was given account credit instead of a cas”
  2. 2Evidence5 searches, 5 pages: aa.com, southwest.com, united.com
  3. 3BeliefNothing established about the brand
  4. 4DecisionOpen market decisionNONETwo offers were established to meet the required refund condition (full cash refund to the original payment method, with a stated $0 cancellation fee, when cancelled well…
run-d1ab3a63Open decision trace →
with memoryopen markettested2026-09-16
  1. 1Customer missionUS three-line household (declared brief)
    • Round-trip economy, 2 adults, AUS to ORD or MDW, depart Fri 24 Oct 2026 / return Mon 27 Oc…
    • Cancellation ≥14 days before departure must return full amount as CASH to original payment…
    • Cancellation fee under that condition must be established as zero or a stated amount, from…
    • Published fare recorded only if read live from a source; never estimated
    Remembers: “Earlier this year the household cancelled a different subscription service and was given account credit instead of a cas”
  2. 2Evidence8 searches, 4 pages: support.southwest.com, united.com, southwest.com, delta.com
  3. 3BeliefNothing established about the brand
  4. 4DecisionOpen market decisionDelta Air Lines – Refundable Main Cabin fareOnly two of five investigated fare products could be confirmed, from a source I actually read, to return cash to the original payment method on cancellation ≥14 days befo…
run-68c1b1c4Open decision trace →
with memoryopen marketrefused by aa.com, saleslink.aa.comtested2026-09-16
  1. 1Customer missionUS three-line household (declared brief)
    • Cash refund to original form of payment (not credit/voucher/travel bank) upon cancellation…
    • Cancellation fee under that condition established as zero or a stated amount from a readab…
    • Published fare recorded only if read from a live, readable source; never estimated — prefe…
    • Market: US-based carriers only, economy cabin, AUS to ORD or MDW
    Remembers: “Earlier this year the household cancelled a different subscription service and was given account credit instead of a cas”
  2. 2Evidence5 searches, 7 pages: aa.com, delta.com, mobile.southwest.com, united.com +2
  3. 3BeliefNothing established about the brand
  4. 4DecisionOpen market decisionSouthwest Airlines Anytime Fare (economy, AUS–Chicago Midway)Of the four candidates researched, only Southwest's Anytime fare had both required facts affirmatively established from a source: Southwest-domain pages (reached via web …
run-b88684fdOpen decision trace →
with memoryopen marketrefused by aa.comtested2026-09-16
  1. 1Customer missionUS three-line household (declared brief)
    • Cancellation ≥14 days before departure must return the full amount as cash to the original…
    • Cancellation fee under that condition must be established from a readable source, zero or …
    • Published fare recorded only if read live from a source for the specific dates/route — nev…
    • Only offers actually bookable in the US market for AUS↔ORD/MDW, Fri Oct 24 2026 – Mon Oct …
    Remembers: “Earlier this year the household cancelled a different subscription service and was given account credit instead of a cas”
  2. 2Evidence6 searches, 3 pages: southwest.com, aa.com, united.com
  3. 3BeliefNothing established about the brand
  4. 4DecisionOpen market decisionSouthwest Airlines – Anytime (Choice Preferred) fare, AUS–MDWOf the fare types checked, only fully-flexible/refundable fare classes meet the customer's hard requirement (cash to original payment method on cancellation ≥14 days out,…
run-babb457fOpen decision trace →
with memoryopen marketrefused by aa.comtested2026-09-16
  1. 1Customer missionUS three-line household (declared brief)
    • refund must be cash to original payment method for cancellation ≥14 days before departure …
    • cancellation fee must be established from a readable source, zero or stated amount (requir…
    • published fare recorded only if read live; never estimated (preference)
    • prefer fare/plan whose terms do not change after an introductory period (soft preference, …
    Remembers: “Earlier this year the household cancelled a different subscription service and was given account credit instead of a cas”
  2. 2Evidence6 searches, 6 pages: aa.com, southwest.com, united.com, nerdwallet.com
  3. 3BeliefNothing established about the brand
  4. 4DecisionOpen market decisionNONEThree refundable/flexible economy fare products — American Airlines Refundable Main Cabin, United Airlines Refundable (Flexible) Economy, and Southwest Airlines Anytime/B…
run-cb517d6aOpen decision trace →
with memoryopen marketrefused by aa.comobserved2026-09-16
  1. 1Customer missionUS three-line household (declared brief)
    • Cancellation at least 14 days before departure must return the full amount as cash to the …
    • Cancellation fee under that condition must be established as zero or a stated amount from …
    • Published fare recorded only if read from a live, dated-specific source — never estimated
    • Only economy-class fare types on carriers actually serving AUS to ORD or MDW considered
    Remembers: “Earlier this year the household cancelled a different subscription service and was given account credit instead of a cas”
  2. 2Evidence5 searches, 6 pages: aa.com, southwest.com, united.com, faq.flyfrontier.com
  3. 3BeliefNothing established about the brand
  4. 4DecisionOpen market decisionSouthwest Airlines – Anytime FareOf the candidates examined, only Southwest's Anytime fare had both hard requirements established from readable sources: fully refundable to the original form of payment i…
run-5339172fOpen decision trace →