Your biggest competitor isn't another travel agency.
In today’s world, your greatest competition is generative AI, a tool that has the power to make your brand invisible. For that very reason, your travel agency’s generative engine optimization (GEO) strategy needs to take center stage to ensure that your brand remains visible and accessible to potential clients.
In this article, you will learn how to get your business noticed by generative AI tools and find out why you need to rethink your digital marketing strategy now.
What Is GEO?
GEO is the practice of structuring your digital content — from your website to your Google Business Profile and beyond — to be accurately retrieved, summarized and cited by large language models (LLMs). Currently, some of the most popular LLMs among U.S. consumers include ChatGPT, Claude, Google Gemini, Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot, but the offerings continue to grow exponentially.
While traditional search engine optimization (SEO) speaks to search engines such as Google and Bing through keywords and backlinks, GEO provides clear, authoritative and structured information that generative AI can confidently use in its answers.
But if AI engines can't access, understand and weigh that expertise when a traveler asks, ‘Who should I book my Patagonia trek with?’ you simply don't exist in that decision process.
“Travelers used to visit many sites before booking,” said Imri Marcus, CEO and co-founder of Brandlight, a marketing technology platform focused on AI optimization. “Now, they’re having 15-minute conversations with AI that replace all that research. For a local or niche travel agency, this is existential. You've built your business on relationships, expertise and local knowledge. But if AI engines can't access, understand and weigh that expertise when a traveler asks, ‘Who should I book my Patagonia trek with?’ you simply don't exist in that decision process.”
The Imperative of LLM Ranking
The need to rank among LLMs is clear as more consumers turn to tools such as ChatGPT to plan and research upcoming trips. According to the 2025 Deloitte Holiday Travel Survey of nearly 4,000 Americans, the adoption of generative AI in travel planning has tripled since 2023. The surge in adoption is led by younger generations, with 31% of millennials and 30% of Gen Z reporting that they use generative AI tools in travel discovery and planning. Millennials also lead in using AI-generated recommendations for destinations, flights, restaurants and hotel bookings.
Furthermore, new research from Adobe Analytics shows that generative AI traffic is not only growing, but also driving higher conversions. In October, for example, traffic from generative AI tools to U.S. retail websites increased by 1,200% year over year. And, perhaps even more telling is that once potential customers landed on a retail business page, they were 16% more likely to make a purchase than those who found the site by traditional means.
“Instead of typing ‘Northern Lights Iceland’ into Google, people are now asking in AI search, 'What’s the best time to go to Iceland to see the Northern Lights?’ with a response stating when to go, what part of Iceland is best and asking if you need help building an itinerary or if you need help booking tickets,” said Brandlight’s Marcus.
How to Get Noticed
In this new era of search, what can travel advisors do to get recommended by ChatGPT and other LLMs? According to Jonti Bolles, founder of Texas-based WHO Digital Strategy, travel agencies should begin shifting their focus from only ranking for specific keywords to becoming seen as an authority in a travel-planning niche.
"Know your audience and associate your brand with the topical authority that you want to build, whether that’s as an expert in wine tourism in the Napa Valley or in a specific niche of adventure travel,” Bolles said. “And use descriptions of your expertise clearly in concise statements on your website, as well as in other places you can be found, such as in your social media captions, bios on social media channels, earned articles that you place on sites, Reddit conversations and wherever else you’re talked about and or have a voice.”
Use descriptions of your expertise clearly in concise statements on your website, as well as in other places you can be found, such as in your social media captions, bios on social media channels, earned articles that you place on sites, Reddit conversations and wherever else you’re talked about and or have a voice.
While it may seem like a daunting task to retool your digital presence, an easy place to start is by sharing detailed sample itineraries on your agency’s website. While some potential clients may end up booking parts or all of an itinerary on their own, Bolles argues that the pros ultimately outweigh the cons.
"There are very few hidden secrets anymore, and by sharing your itineraries, yes, there will be a subset of people who are going to take some of that information; however, if you continue to share interesting itineraries and offer something of value, this will become a true reason for you to get discovered by AI tools — especially if you can niche down and target a certain demographic,” she said.
Expert Tips on How to Present Content
We have entered an age in which the structure of your content is just as important as the content itself. Below, we’ve curated tips from WHO Digital Strategy and Brandlight on how best to present your content, written in a format that would be easy for generative AI tools to synthesize.
- State what readers will gain from the content right at the very beginning.
- Always consider your audience and the specific value they will take away from reading your content.
- Do not simply copy existing information.
- Always provide original knowledge and your unique perspective, even on widely covered destinations and tours.
- First-person expertise matters: Something like “In our 20 years of planning family trips to Maui” signals authority to AI engines that you’re speaking from experience.
- Shift your tone to conversational but authoritative (LLMs are trained on natural language, so writing like a helpful expert beats SEO keyword stuffing).
- Structure content for easy consumption by using bullet points, lists or short paragraphs (two to three sentences) that contain single, complete ideas.
- Offer clear parameters such as tour duration, difficulty, seasonality and group size.
- Reinforce your descriptions with quantifiable facts (numbers, references) such as visitor count, seasonality or best times to visit.
- Offer transparent pricing (even ranges help AI engines match intent).
- Include your explicit expertise signals: years in business, certifications, traveler count, awards, etc.
With these tips in mind, Fareportal, the travel technology company that powers CheapOair and OneTravel, has been refining its digital presence, focusing on answering real traveler questions in natural language.
Travel companies who win in this next era will be the ones who measure their presence in AI engines with the same rigor they measure their website and marketing efforts today.
Fareportal’s content anticipates conversational queries such as, “What’s the best way to plan a family beach vacation?” and provides context-rich, practical guidance. To that end, the company recently shifted from lengthy, narrative-style posts to concise, structured content that AI can process quickly.
“Our blogs now feature bullet points, quick tips and clear summaries, all written in a tone that’s direct and helpful,” said Thomas Spagnola, senior vice president of supplier relations and partnerships sales for Fareportal. “This approach ensures that when travelers ask AI tools for advice, Fareportal’s insights are surfaced as authoritative and actionable.”
When brand building, local media mentions can also go a long way toward building trust and don’t require additional marketing dollars. To increase visibility, advisors can reach out to their local newscast to provide trending story ideas and expert commentary, find a relevant podcast and offer to be a guest, or write a guest opinion piece related to their niche for a local publication.
Submitting for awards that showcase your skills and asking your past clients for Google Business reviews are other ways to be seen as an authoritative voice by LLMs.
"Travel companies who win in this next era will be the ones who measure their presence in AI engines with the same rigor they measure their website and marketing efforts today,” said Marcus of Brandlight AI. “They will use data and intelligence layers in their strategy to make more informed decisions that lead to better outcomes.”
