How AI Is Rapidly Changing Travel Planning, And What It Means for Brands in 2026
As we enter 2026, AI is disrupting every industry. So, how will it impact the travel industry? Travelers aren’t just booking trips online anymore; they are utilizing AI for almost every single aspect of the planning process. From destinations and hotel recommendations to itinerary suggestions and flight options, generative AI tools now play a central part of how people are dreaming, planning and booking their travel. So, what does that mean for travel brands? If you aren’t thinking about AI as part of your visibility and storytelling strategy, you risk getting left behind.
Travelers Start Their Journeys with AI
Search is still a major starting point, but a growing share of travelers now begins with AI assistants to narrow options, build itineraries and compare tradeoffs faster. Today, over 1/3 of travelers are increasingly turning to AI tools such as ChatGPT, Google’s AI Mode and more to help them:
Discover new destinations tailored to their interests
Generate personalized hotel and itinerary suggestions
Compare options with nuanced preferences (budget, vibe, accessibility, etc.)
Save time by summarizing reviews and finding relevant activities
That adoption is continuing to rise, with surveys showing a rising share of travelers using generative AI to plan and book trips with expectations that usage will continue climbing sharply.
Travelers Make Fast Decisions with AI
AI companies and travel providers constantly roll out new tools like GuideGeek, an AI travel assistant powered by leading language models, allowing travelers to find attractions and discover unexpected destinations in significantly less time than before.
Even larger players like Google are embedding AI directly into the travel discovery process, allowing users to visualize entire itineraries and tweak them directly within search results. These shifts matter because they change where and how travelers learn about hotels, experiences and destinations, and even how they consume deeper brand stories.
So, How Can Travel Brands Stand Out in a GenAI World?
For destinations, hotels, experiences and more, the battle for travelers’ attention is no longer about SEO, brand awareness and enticing social content. AI discoverability and brand relevance are now key factors in the planning journey. Here are a few things brand leaders need to consider in 2026:
Optimize for AI Discovery: AI tools draw from the web to suggest hotels, attractions and experiences with recommendations tending to rely heavily on third-party sources and corroboration. Brands that are not consistently validated in credible coverage, reviews and expert content are easier to miss. If a brand isn’t visible, meaning there is a lack of consistent, relevant brand news and updates in notable media outlets, then there’s a strong chance it won’t appear in AI recommendations. Investing in integrated PR campaigns to ensure ongoing meaningful brand coverage will help ensure the brand exists in AI datasets.
Think Beyond Static Content: Instead of pulling keywords like a typical search engine, AI synthesizes insights. Brands that tell compelling stories through impactful earned media mentions, brand blogs and social content give AI models better material to search and summarize. In an AI era, quality storytelling becomes a discovery engine.
Leverage Data for Personalization: One of AI’s biggest promises, and traveler expectations, is personalized suggestions. Travelers want ideas tailored to their interests, budgets and styles. Brands that leverage first-party data (like loyalty preferences, past stays or engagement behavior) to inform personalized experiences and content will gain a competitive edge.
Partner With AI Platforms and Tools: Meet travelers where questions are asked. That can include integrating into AI travel assistants, optimizing your presence on major platforms that power AI summaries, and publishing high-utility content that AI can confidently cite.
Keep Human Touchpoints Meaningful: AI is fantastic at ideation and planning logistics, but travelers still crave human connection, sincere storytelling and authentic local insights. Brands that balance AI convenience with human warmth, whether through personalized concierge services, curated content or expertly designed packages, will stand out.
Travel planning is quickly evolving from a linear search into an interactive conversation. For travel brands in 2026, generative AI is creating an entirely new surface for brand storytelling.
Tomorrow’s travelers won’t remember the first hotel they saw in search results. They’ll remember the one recommended and reinforced by a well-researched AI model that felt uniquely “them” and delivered a seamless planning experience. The question isn’t just who shows up first, it’s who shows up best.