It has been almost two years since Adido CEO Andy Headington declared that "all travel businesses can reap the benefits" of AI—now, he questions whether or not Google's search dominance could be coming to an end, and encourages travel professionals to gear up for the rise of AI search referrals
Are AI search referrals the next big thing in travel?
"AI usage is soaring and, for the first time since 2015, Google’s global search share has dipped below 90%. Does this signal the end of search as we know it?
"Not quite - but it’s a shift that can’t be ignored.
"It’s important to dig into the data to generate a more comprehensive understanding. When studying 31 travel websites with a total of over 4 million visits so far this year, just 4,769 of those visits could be clearly traced back to AI sources. That's 0.12% - or to put it a different way, about 12 visits in every 10,000.
"And when it comes to which AI chatbot is reigning supreme, there's really only one player in town: ChatGPT accounts for 86.4% of all identifiable referrals."
"... there's really only one player in town: ChatGPT accounts for 86.4% of all identifiable referrals."
Has a worthy competitor emerged, or is comparing AI and search simply apples and oranges?
"However, despite those figures, it’s perhaps a little unfair to measure the impact of visits to travel websites from AI in the traditional sense.
"The core purpose of AI bots is to provide answers, not to necessarily drive clicks via links, as Google has done over the last two decades. Therefore, expecting a surge in traffic from the millions of questions asked each day may not be a realistic comparison.
"To put things into broader perspective, if we worked backwards and tried to estimate how often a brand name appeared in responses, we might get a better sense of whether the tide is turning.
"It would seem that there are very few studies showing how many searches result in a click. In my quest to find out, I asked Claude.ai ‘how many AI bot searches result in a click to a website?’ I was served up with some vague responses saying ‘anything from 10% to 70% of searches result in a click to a website’. It did caveat its response by saying that the click rate would vary depending on if it was an easy or hard question."
Regardless, gear up for AI referrals in travel
"The travel sector has always been prepared to adopt new innovations, so for those who are keen to be match fit when (or if) AI search properly takes off, there are steps to take to increase your chances of being found.
"Perhaps most importantly, it’s vital to create concise content that answers people’s questions. For example, if someone types ‘best family holidays in Crete’, or ‘best cruise lines for solo travellers’, the page should give them what they came for, keeping waffle to an absolute minimum. Add practical tips, FAQs and even tables or bullet points to help AI pick out the useful stuff."
"...it's vital to create concise content that answers people's questions."
"Just like search engines, AI doesn’t like outdated content. If a blog on ‘summer 2023 travel tips’ is collecting dust, update it for the current year with relevant prices, new flight routes or any recent visa requirements. This tells AI—and Google—that the content is fresh.
"Speaking of Google, ensure your Google Business Profile listing is up to date and accurate–think address, contact details, opening hours, services and photos. AI tools use this data when building quick answer cards or local search results.
"Additionally, brands are more likely to appear in AI-generated answers if there’s a focus on detailed queries such as ‘cheap wine tasting tours for couples in Sicily’ rather than broad, highly competitive ones like ‘wine tasting holidays’. Home in on your niche and your brand’s USP.
"User-generated content is also important, especially reviews. Encourage customers to leave feedback on Google, Trustpilot or Tripadvisor. Reply to any questions and comments too – these interactions show up in AI crawls and can boost the chances of being quoted.
"AI search referrals aren’t a game-changer - yet. But for those willing to adapt early, there's a clear opportunity to future-proof visibility and stay one step ahead."
