At Google I/O, the tech giant unveiled its most significant enhancements to Search in over a decade, powered by cutting-edge artificial intelligence. These upgrades are poised to reshape not only how people explore information, but how travel marketers and tourism brands approach digital discovery.*
From Information to Intelligence: AI Overviews Drive Deeper Engagement
Last year, Google introduced AI Overviews, a feature that generates instant, AI-driven summaries in response to complex queries. The tool has rapidly gained traction across key markets like the U.S. and India, resulting in a 10% increase in Search usage for qualifying queries. According to Google, users who engage with AI Overviews tend to conduct more follow-up searches, deepening their exploration and interaction with online content.
This trend is highly relevant for travel marketers, whose audiences often seek detailed, contextual information, whether researching destinations, comparing itineraries, or evaluating travel packages. Google’s AI-generated summaries now include web links, offering brands the opportunity to be featured in high-value results driven by intent-rich queries.
AI Mode Rolls Out Nationwide in the U.S.
To meet demand from power users and content researchers, Google is launching AI Mode — a new, advanced search interface built on multimodal input and deep reasoning. Initially tested in Google Labs, AI Mode is now rolling out to U.S. users without the need for pre-registration. It includes a dedicated tab within Search and the Google app.
AI Mode leverages “query fan-out,” a method that dissects complex questions into subtopics and runs multiple searches simultaneously. For the travel sector, this opens new doors for discovery, such as surfacing lesser-known attractions, generating tailored travel recommendations, or connecting users to hyper-relevant blog posts, videos, and reviews.
Importantly, Google has integrated a custom version of Gemini 2.5, its most intelligent AI model yet, into both AI Mode and AI Overviews, ensuring faster and more accurate search experiences.
Deep Search: A New Tool for Travel Planners and Researchers
Among the most anticipated features previewed at I/O is Deep Search, an upcoming capability within AI Mode designed for in-depth research. Deep Search uses AI to conduct hundreds of searches across diverse sources and compile a fully-cited, expert-level report in minutes.
For travel agents, destination marketers, and tour operators, this could become a critical research tool whether benchmarking market trends, analyzing consumer behavior, or curating content-rich itineraries based on real-time insights.
Project Astra Brings Real-Time Visual AI to Search
Also coming soon is Search Live, a real-time visual search tool that enables users to interact with their surroundings through their smartphone cameras. Built from Google DeepMind’s Project Astra, the feature allows users to “talk” to Search while pointing their camera at objects or scenes.
For travel and tourism brands, this capability presents exciting prospects. Tourists could, for example, scan a landmark and receive instant historical insights, nearby attractions, or booking options, all within a single conversational interface.
What This Means for the Travel Trade
As Google Search evolves into a more intelligent, conversational, and visual experience, travel businesses must rethink SEO and content strategies. The shift toward AI-powered results favors rich, relevant, and multimodal content — video, images, FAQs, and detailed narratives. Being included in AI-generated overviews or Deep Search reports could dramatically increase visibility and engagement.
With AI Mode and Deep Search on the horizon, tourism boards, travel brands, and digital marketers should prepare for a new era where intent-rich queries drive deeper consumer journeys, and where appearing in the right AI-generated moment could be the key to conversion.
*For the travel trade industry, Google’s AI-driven enhancements represent not just a tech upgrade, but a fundamental change in how travelers discover, evaluate, and book their next adventure.*
