Kurt Weinsheimer, General Manager, Properties, at Sojern.
Travelers are increasingly using generative AI applications to dream about their next trip. They’re fast, intuitive and often become the first stop along the path to purchase, shaking up how travelers discover brands and how traditional search marketing works. Even the big online travel agencies like Expedia and Booking.com are feeling the impact. As a result, travel marketers are scrambling to stay visible. A recent survey found that 64% of marketers say the biggest shift driven by AI search will be a decline in traditional search engine use. With OpenAI beginning to test ads within ChatGPT, it’s clear that traditional search strategies, and how brands show up in results, will continue to change.
While search is top of mind for many travel brands, AI is disrupting the entire path to purchase. Travelers are using AI tools during the search and discovery process, new standards are enabling them to view rates and availability during the planning phase and soon, agentic AI will enable them to book using their own AI bot. Now more than ever, marketers must evolve their GEO and MCP strategies to stay at the top of travelers’ lists. Here’s how marketers can embrace the shift to capture traveler attention.
Defining GEO And MCP
With the rise of AI tools comes two terms that are important for marketers to know: GEO and MCP.
GEO, or Generative Engine Optimization, is like SEO for the AI era, and is a top-of-funnel strategy that helps to shortlist a property or activity based on traveler inputs. Instead of adjusting or creating website content to stay above the fold on a traditional results page, GEO is about earning a mention in the AI-generated answer while travelers are in the discovery process. Large language models (LLMs) do more than index a brand’s website; they synthesize signals from online reviews, maps, local listings, news articles, social media, blogs, online directories and more, which means visibility in AI search depends on far more than owned channels alone. Every guest review, third-party mention and local citation shape how LLMs understand and recommend a brand.
Next is MCP, or Model Context Protocol, which is standardizing how brands share data so LLMs or other AI tools can easily access and understand information, and provide accurate details, such as rates, amenities and availability, to travelers who are in the consideration phase. Essentially, they’re like USBs for LLMs, allowing data sources to plug into any LLM without creating new connections for each. While agentic AI and agent-to-agent interactions are still early, MCP is laying the communication groundwork now.
While MCP is important, many marketers are stuck on search. Travel marketers must evolve their upper-funnel strategies from traditional SEO tactics and start to view discoverability through both a GEO lens and a data readiness lens. Now is the time to ask questions, experiment and lay the connectivity groundwork, because the businesses that help AI understand them best will be the ones travelers see first. Here are three steps travel marketers can focus on right now:
1. Get Data And Content AI-Ready
Accurate, accessible data is foundational for AI search. Travel suppliers must ensure their most actionable information, such as pricing, availability, amenities, policies and location details, is accurate and easy for LLMs to understand. What’s more, travelers don’t interact with AI the way they browse a website. They ask questions and describe what they want, such as “Can you recommend a pet-friendly hotel in a walkable neighborhood with great dining nearby?” That means content should skew more conversational and FAQ-driven, with clear, direct answers that map to how people actually search.
LLMs prioritize clear, specific content over long-form narratives to answer traveler questions. Marketers must pare things down, audit FAQs, ensure all website content is genuinely useful and specific and double-check that pricing and details are up to date everywhere they appear.
2. Focus On Signals Influencing Top Of The Funnel
AI is changing the marketing funnel, and bottom-of-the-funnel “end of the guest journey” signals—like guest ratings and reviews—are now increasingly influencing top-of-funnel visibility. Reviews matter more than ever, because AI models actively use them to rank and recommend. If a traveler uses AI mode to search for “top-rated hotels,” review scores are often a deciding factor. Positive reviews directly influence whether (or how) a brand shows up in AI-generated results, and those reviews start with a great guest experience.
By delivering personalized experiences from the moment travelers start dreaming all the way through to post-stay, brands can earn exceptional reviews that increase awareness for new travelers. For example, one hotel chain leveraged in-stay instant feedback loops to solve problems faster, improving quality metrics by 6.64%.
3. Don’t Panic, But Don’t Stand Still
AI search is changing consumer behavior, but it’s not flipping a switch overnight. It took time for travelers to start using online booking tools rather than calling a property to book, and the shift towards AI-discoverability will also take time. A tipping point will come, but no one can predict the moment it will happen.
That’s why now is about testing, learning and adapting, and most importantly, not abandoning full-funnel or multichannel strategies. Keep investing in what works today, while experimenting with what’s coming next.
AI search is undeniably changing how travelers discover and book their next adventures. The role of travel marketers isn’t to predict the exact future of search but to ensure their brand is ready for whatever shape that future takes. Those who stay curious, flexible and proactive will be best positioned as AI search truly becomes the default.
Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
