It’s no longer a question of whether AI is changing the world; it already has. From search engines to classroom dynamics, from passive income to content discovery, artificial intelligence is fundamentally transforming how we work, create, and connect. And in the world of travel content creation, the impact has been seismic.
Just this week, Google stock took a sharp dip after Apple announced it may replace Google Search with an AI-powered alternative. Is this the beginning of the end for Google as we know it? That remains to be seen but what’s certain is this: the days of SEO, as we knew it, are over.
A New Era of Search and the Fallout
About a year ago, creators began noticing drastic changes to their Google search traffic. The familiar rhythms of keyword targeting, backlink strategies, and evergreen content performance seemed to break overnight.
One of TBEX North America’s Conference Directors, Tomiko Harvey, experienced this firsthand. She was invited to attend a Google-hosted summit for select travel and food bloggers. In a follow-up video shared with our community, she detailed how algorithm shifts devastated her blog, Passports and Grub, costing her an astonishing 98% of her traffic. Her advertising income plummeted from over $12,000 per month to under $400, practically overnight. And she’s far from alone!
As search tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity rise in popularity, creators are scrambling to understand new content discovery models. Traditional SEO is being supplemented and, in some cases, overtaken by the mechanics of AI-driven summarization and conversational search.
SEO experts are shifting their attention toward “AI optimization.” What that means in practice is still being figured out. But one thing is clear: creators, destinations, and brands can no longer rely on what worked in the past.
The TBEX Response: Equipping You for What’s Next
These disruptions are exactly why we’re diving deep into AI’s impact at:
- TBEX North America in Quebec City, Canada, June 16–19
- TBEX Europe in Letterkenny, County Donegal, Ireland, September 9-12
- TBEX Summit America in Wichita, Kansas, October 1-4
Across multiple sessions and panels, we’ll explore:
- How to adapt your content for AI-driven discovery
- The tools creators and marketers are using to streamline workflows and stay competitive
- What brands and DMOs need to understand about AI’s influence on traveler behavior and content visibility
- Whether AI is a creative co-pilot or a competitive threat
This isn’t just a theory either. You’ll hear directly from creators navigating the fallout, experts who see the bigger picture, and destination marketers working to future-proof their strategies.
If you haven’t registered yet, use your 35% off code and secure your spot now (TBEXBlog35). Artificial Intelligence isn’t waiting and neither should you.
AI in the Classroom: A Mirror for What’s to Come
The debate isn’t limited to marketing and media. It’s also reshaping the classroom. Students are openly using ChatGPT and similar tools to write term papers. Educators are using it to grade those same papers. Some call it cheating. Others call it smart. One particularly spicy take: maybe the students not using AI are the ones missing the assignment entirely.
Regardless of where you stand, it’s a microcosm of a larger truth: we are living through a transformation where human work and machine intelligence are becoming inseparable.
And that truth will touch every industry, including ours.
So, What Now?
Now is the time to engage in these changes. To stop mourning the old rules and start learning the new ones. To experiment, to question, and to show up in rooms where these conversations are happening.
We built TBEX to be that room. Whether you’re a creator who’s lost traffic and wants to rebuild smarter, a DMO seeking clarity amid chaos, or a brand navigating what AI means for influence, content, and credibility; you belong in this conversation.
Because AI is changing everything. And TBEX is where we figure out how to evolve with it.
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