Getting Found in the Age of ChatGPT and Google AI: An SEO Guide for Hotels, Agencies and Tour Operators

“Plan me three days in Naples with a trip to Pompeii and a hotel near the historic centre.” Until recently, that search went through Google and a dozen tabs. Today, more and more often, the answer arrives ready-made from ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude or the AI box at the top of Google’s results. The question for anyone in tourism is simple: are you in that answer?

Travellers have changed how they search

A study run in April 2026 by Mindtrip, Sabre, Sojern and MMGY Travel Intelligence found that 54% of travellers have already used AI to plan a trip and 75% intend to do so in future. 40% have discovered a destination through AI, and 29% have changed their plans based on an AI recommendation.

Adoption is growing fast. In a Global Rescue survey of experienced international travellers, the share using AI to plan trips abroad rose from 22% to 36% between January and July 2026. Travellers outside the US, which includes most of the European markets that visit southern Italy, are adopting it even faster.

Fewer clicks, but more decided customers

The other side of the coin is Google’s AI Overviews, the AI-generated summaries at the top of search results. A late-2025 study by Seer Interactive found that for searches showing an AI summary, organic click-through rates fell by 61%. BrightEdge data also shows travel is among the sectors where these summaries take up the most space.

Organic click-through rate on searches with a Google AI Overview

Before1.76%After0.61%

Does that mean your website no longer matters? Quite the opposite. People who click after reading an AI answer tend to arrive with their minds largely made up, closer to buying. And the AI has to get its information from somewhere: from your website, if it’s clear and reliable, or from a platform’s, if yours isn’t.

Good news for independent businesses

A 2026 analysis of hotel searches on Google Gemini observed that “experiential” questions (what kind of stay, what atmosphere, what to do nearby) generated a much higher share of citations from non-OTA sources than purely transactional searches. In other words: platforms win on price questions, but there’s room for original content on questions about the experience. That’s exactly where hotels, B&Bs and local guides know more than anyone else.

Technical basics: if the site doesn’t work, AI can’t read it

Speed and mobile

A slow site loses customers and rankings. The most common culprits on tourism WordPress sites: huge unoptimised images, dozens of plugins, third-party scripts loaded on every page, and CSS and JavaScript that block rendering. Test your site with Google’s PageSpeed Insights and start with the issues flagged as most serious.

Indexing

It happens more often than you’d think: new or rebuilt sites with zero indexed pages because a “discourage search engines” box was left ticked, or the sitemap was never submitted. Check in Google Search Console how many of your pages are indexed.

Structured data

Structured data (schema.org in JSON-LD format) tells search engines and AI exactly what you are: a hotel at a given address, a tour with a duration and a price, a page of frequently asked questions. It’s invisible to visitors but very useful to anything that “reads” your site automatically.

Content: write to answer, not to fill space

• Answer your customers’ real questions. “How do I get to Vesuvius without a car?”, “Can I do Pompeii and Herculaneum in one day?”, “Where can I park near the historic centre?”. The questions in your inbox are the best topic list you’ll ever have.
• Be precise. Times, durations, distances, what’s included and what isn’t. AI tends to cite sources that give clear, verifiable answers.
• Share what only you know. The best time to climb to the crater, the café where locals have breakfast, the mistake everyone makes at Pompeii. That’s content a platform can’t have.
• Keep it current. A page with 2023 opening hours inspires trust in neither people nor algorithms.
• Think in several languages. If more than half your guests come from abroad, an English version of your site (and perhaps others) isn’t optional.

Beyond your website: where AI looks

AI assistants cross-check multiple sources. So it also matters to keep your Google Business Profile up to date (hours, photos, replies to reviews), to keep your name, address and phone number consistent across every platform, and to have recent reviews. Replying to reviews, positive and negative, is a sign of activity that counts for customers and algorithms alike.

Quick checklist

1. Does your site load quickly on a smartphone? (PageSpeed Insights)
2. Are your pages indexed? (Google Search Console)
3. Is there structured data for your business, services and FAQs?
4. Is there a page answering your customers’ 10 most frequent questions?
5. Is the site available in English at least?
6. Is your Google Business Profile complete and up to date?
7. Is there a visible “Book now” button on every page?

Frequently asked questions

Can I pay to appear in ChatGPT or Gemini answers?

Organic answers from AI assistants can’t be bought like an ad: they’re based on the information available online. The way in is clear, reliable, up-to-date content, on your site and on the platforms the AI consults.

Is traditional SEO still useful?

Yes. The fundamentals are the same: a fast, indexed site with useful, well-structured content is what both Google and AI assistants can read and cite best.

How long before I see results?

Technical fixes (speed, indexing) can take effect within a few weeks. Content usually takes a few months to build up rankings and citations.

Sources

• Hotel Online – Mindtrip, Sabre, Sojern and MMGY research on travellers and AI
• Global Rescue – AI use for international trip planning
• Travel Talk – Google’s AI revolution is changing travel search
• Marketing4eCommerce – BrightEdge data on AI Overviews
• Hospitality Net – Global Hospitality Industry Review, H1 2026

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