{"title":"The state of AI search in travel","series":"The State of AI Search","edition":"Q3 2026","publisher":"AuraScope","url":"https://aurascope.co/research/travel-ai-search/","published":"2026-10-03","modified":"2026-10-03","dataCheckedTo":"2026-10-01","licenceNote":"Figures belong to the named sources. Cite the original source and this page when reusing.","summary":"Travellers now plan trips with AI but still book with brands they trust, and AI answers lean on OTAs, review sites and blogs rather than brands' own pages. Citations fade within weeks, most hotel websites we audited are hard for AI to read, and the first personal agents have started booking. The work for travel brands now is visibility: be readable, cited and accurate, and run bookability as a separate track.","keyFindings":["AI is now a normal place to plan a trip but not to book one: 53% of travellers are comfortable with AI suggestions, and 8% with AI booking.","At NZ Tech Expo (n=89, a tech-heavy room, not a general traveller sample), 88.8% had used AI to plan a trip and 1 of 79 users had let it book.","The average brand appears in 16.30% of AI answers about its category, and 84% of answers cite someone else's site.","Which sources AI trusts depends on the engine and the question. On hotel questions, OTAs take 55.3% of citations; on open travel questions, independent blogs dominate.","Citations fade fast. A ChatGPT citation has a half-life of 3.4 weeks.","79.4% of the 107 New Zealand hotel websites AuraScope evaluated fully scored Weak or Critical on the signals AI uses to read a site, and airlines go unlinked in 74.6% of ChatGPT flight mentions.","The answer engines held back from checkout, while personal agents from Meta, OpenAI and xAI have started booking. Muse shops for hotels by browsing OTA sites."],"evidenceGrades":{"primary":"Primary source checked","secondary":"Secondary coverage","vendor":"Vendor dataset","aurascope":"AuraScope research"},"figures":[{"section":"summary","value":"22.6%","label":"of ChatGPT travel answers cite a web source. The rest come from the model's memory.","sourceNote":"Similarweb, May 2026, US desktop","grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"similarweb","publisher":"Similarweb","url":"https://aisearch.similarweb.com/blog/ai-referral-traffic-by-industry/"}]},{"section":"summary","value":"68%","label":"of travellers prefer to book with a trusted travel brand over an AI chatbot.","sourceNote":"Expedia Group and YouGov, 5,700 adults, March 2026","grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"expedia-trust-gap","publisher":"Expedia Group","url":"https://ir.expediagroup.com/news-and-events/news/news-details/2026/Expedia-Group-Reveals-The-AI-Trust-Gap-Travelers-Embrace-AI-for-Planning-but-Rely-on-Trusted-Brands-to-Book/default.aspx"}]},{"section":"summary","value":"<1%","label":"of Booking Holdings room nights come from LLM referrals, with \"no material change\".","sourceNote":"Booking Holdings Q2 2026 call, 4 August 2026","grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"booking-q2","publisher":"PhocusWire","url":"https://www.phocuswire.com/news/finance/booking-holdings-q2-2026-earnings"}]},{"section":"summary","value":"3.4 weeks","label":"is the half-life of a ChatGPT citation.","sourceNote":"Scrunch and Stacker, 3.5 million citation events, September 2025 to March 2026","grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"scrunch-half-life","publisher":"Scrunch","url":"https://scrunch.com/blog/half-life-of-ai-citations"}]},{"section":"where-trips-start","value":"1 billion+","label":"weekly ChatGPT users","sourceNote":"OpenAI, 31 August 2026","grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"openai-ads","publisher":"OpenAI","url":"https://openai.com/index/expanding-access-to-ai-with-chatgpt-ads/"}]},{"section":"where-trips-start","value":"62%","label":"of audiences in Tourism New Zealand's key markets are likely to use AI tools to plan their next trip. 53% expect to use AI more.","sourceNote":"Tourism New Zealand active-considerer research, 27 July 2026","grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"tnz-workshops","publisher":"Tourism New Zealand","url":"https://www.tourismnewzealand.com/news-and-activity/tnz-hosts-ai-discoverability-workshops-for-industry/"}]},{"section":"where-trips-start","value":"13% to 30%","label":"of travellers used ChatGPT extensively to plan trips, a year apart: up from 13% to 30%","sourceNote":"Skift Research and McKinsey, reported 20 March 2026","grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"skift-otas","publisher":"Skift","url":"https://skift.com/2026/03/20/otas-ai-discovery-transactions/"}]},{"section":"where-trips-start","value":"44.5 million","label":"AI referral visits a month to travel sites worldwide, up 115.6% year on year. These are visits, not bookings.","sourceNote":"Similarweb, June 2025 to May 2026","grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"similarweb","publisher":"Similarweb","url":"https://aisearch.similarweb.com/blog/ai-referral-traffic-by-industry/"}]},{"section":"where-trips-start","value":"40%","label":"of travellers use AI to help build itineraries. 59% still use search engines, and 8% of US and UK travellers rely on AI chatbots and agents.","sourceNote":"Expedia Group and YouGov, March 2026","grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"expedia-trust-gap","publisher":"Expedia Group","url":"https://ir.expediagroup.com/news-and-events/news/news-details/2026/Expedia-Group-Reveals-The-AI-Trust-Gap-Travelers-Embrace-AI-for-Planning-but-Rely-on-Trusted-Brands-to-Book/default.aspx"}]},{"section":"where-trips-start","value":"194%","label":"growth in AI-sourced traffic to US travel sites in the year to May 2026. Since October 2024 it has grown 2,215%.","sourceNote":"Adobe Digital Insights, 17 June 2026","grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"adobe-travel","publisher":"Adobe Digital Insights","url":"https://business.adobe.com/blog/adobe-report-ai-traffic-travel-sites-surges-200-percent"}]},{"section":"trust-gap","value":"53%","label":"are comfortable letting AI suggest travel options","sourceNote":"Expedia Group and YouGov, 5,700 adults in the US, UK and India, 10 to 25 March 2026","grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"expedia-trust-gap","publisher":"Expedia Group","url":"https://ir.expediagroup.com/news-and-events/news/news-details/2026/Expedia-Group-Reveals-The-AI-Trust-Gap-Travelers-Embrace-AI-for-Planning-but-Rely-on-Trusted-Brands-to-Book/default.aspx"}]},{"section":"trust-gap","value":"68%","label":"prefer to book with a trusted travel brand over AI chatbots and agents","sourceNote":"Expedia Group and YouGov, March 2026","grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"expedia-trust-gap","publisher":"Expedia Group","url":"https://ir.expediagroup.com/news-and-events/news/news-details/2026/Expedia-Group-Reveals-The-AI-Trust-Gap-Travelers-Embrace-AI-for-Planning-but-Rely-on-Trusted-Brands-to-Book/default.aspx"}]},{"section":"trust-gap","value":"8%","label":"are comfortable booking through an AI platform. 66% would not trust an AI assistant to buy or book anything for them.","sourceNote":"Expedia Group and YouGov, March 2026","grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"expedia-trust-gap","publisher":"Expedia Group","url":"https://ir.expediagroup.com/news-and-events/news/news-details/2026/Expedia-Group-Reveals-The-AI-Trust-Gap-Travelers-Embrace-AI-for-Planning-but-Rely-on-Trusted-Brands-to-Book/default.aspx"}]},{"section":"trust-gap","value":"2%","label":"would give an AI tool full autonomy to make and change bookings","sourceNote":"McKinsey and Skift Research, 1,002 travellers, September 2025","grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"mckinsey-skift","publisher":"McKinsey and Skift Research","url":"https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/travel/our-insights/remapping-travel-with-agentic-ai"}]},{"section":"nz-tech-expo-survey","value":"88.8%","label":"have used ChatGPT, Gemini or Copilot to plan a trip. 16.9% say it is now their starting point.","sourceNote":"NZ Tech Expo attendees (n=89), all respondents","grade":"aurascope","sources":[{"id":"aurascope-nz-tech-expo-survey","publisher":"AuraScope"}]},{"section":"nz-tech-expo-survey","value":"61.6%","label":"used an AI assistant while planning their last stay. 17.4% opened one first, ahead of Google or a booking site.","sourceNote":"NZ Tech Expo attendees (n=89), the 86 who had taken a trip","grade":"aurascope","sources":[{"id":"aurascope-nz-tech-expo-survey","publisher":"AuraScope"}]},{"section":"nz-tech-expo-survey","value":"19.8%","label":"booked their last stay direct with the property. At the same price, 45.3% would rather book direct.","sourceNote":"NZ Tech Expo attendees (n=89), the 86 who had taken a trip","grade":"aurascope","sources":[{"id":"aurascope-nz-tech-expo-survey","publisher":"AuraScope"}]},{"section":"nz-tech-expo-survey","value":"86.5%","label":"would let AI book and pay on some terms: 50.6% only if they approve first, 9.0% for stays under $500 and 27.0% without hesitation.","sourceNote":"NZ Tech Expo attendees (n=89), all respondents","grade":"aurascope","sources":[{"id":"aurascope-nz-tech-expo-survey","publisher":"AuraScope"}]},{"section":"nz-tech-expo-survey","value":"54.7% (47)","label":"Where they booked their last stay: A booking site","sourceNote":"NZ Tech Expo attendees (n=89), the 86 who had taken a trip","grade":"aurascope","sources":[{"id":"aurascope-nz-tech-expo-survey","publisher":"AuraScope"}]},{"section":"nz-tech-expo-survey","value":"19.8% (17)","label":"Where they booked their last stay: Direct with the property","sourceNote":"NZ Tech Expo attendees (n=89), the 86 who had taken a trip","grade":"aurascope","sources":[{"id":"aurascope-nz-tech-expo-survey","publisher":"AuraScope"}]},{"section":"nz-tech-expo-survey","value":"17.4% (15)","label":"Where they booked their last stay: Airbnb or similar","sourceNote":"NZ Tech Expo attendees (n=89), the 86 who had taken a trip","grade":"aurascope","sources":[{"id":"aurascope-nz-tech-expo-survey","publisher":"AuraScope"}]},{"section":"nz-tech-expo-survey","value":"5.8% (5)","label":"Where they booked their last stay: Someone else booked it","sourceNote":"NZ Tech Expo attendees (n=89), the 86 who had taken a trip","grade":"aurascope","sources":[{"id":"aurascope-nz-tech-expo-survey","publisher":"AuraScope"}]},{"section":"nz-tech-expo-survey","value":"2.3% (2)","label":"Where they booked their last stay: Don't remember","sourceNote":"NZ Tech Expo attendees (n=89), the 86 who had taken a trip","grade":"aurascope","sources":[{"id":"aurascope-nz-tech-expo-survey","publisher":"AuraScope"}]},{"section":"nz-tech-expo-survey","value":"40.4% (36)","label":"What would matter most before letting AI book: See the exact total price before it pays","sourceNote":"NZ Tech Expo attendees (n=89), all respondents","grade":"aurascope","sources":[{"id":"aurascope-nz-tech-expo-survey","publisher":"AuraScope"}]},{"section":"nz-tech-expo-survey","value":"38.2% (34)","label":"What would matter most before letting AI book: Adjust or approve its choice before it books","sourceNote":"NZ Tech Expo attendees (n=89), all respondents","grade":"aurascope","sources":[{"id":"aurascope-nz-tech-expo-survey","publisher":"AuraScope"}]},{"section":"nz-tech-expo-survey","value":"19.1% (17)","label":"What would matter most before letting AI book: A confirmation from the property itself","sourceNote":"NZ Tech Expo attendees (n=89), all respondents","grade":"aurascope","sources":[{"id":"aurascope-nz-tech-expo-survey","publisher":"AuraScope"}]},{"section":"nz-tech-expo-survey","value":"2.2% (2)","label":"What would matter most before letting AI book: Nothing would, I wouldn't let it","sourceNote":"NZ Tech Expo attendees (n=89), all respondents","grade":"aurascope","sources":[{"id":"aurascope-nz-tech-expo-survey","publisher":"AuraScope"}]},{"section":"market-benchmark","value":"16.30%","label":"average brand mention rate, against 56.48% for the leading brands","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"section":"market-benchmark","value":"84%","label":"of responses cite a third party rather than the brand's own domain. 16.05% cite the brand's domain.","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"section":"market-benchmark","value":"6 to 27","label":"distinct domains cited per answer, depending on the engine. The average across engines is 12.","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"section":"market-benchmark","value":"33.64%","label":"Share of voice by brand rank, all segments: Rank 1","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026","footnote":"The top three brands hold 66.39% of mentions. The top brand is mentioned 3.5 times as often as the average brand in its category.","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"section":"market-benchmark","value":"19.46%","label":"Share of voice by brand rank, all segments: Rank 2","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026","footnote":"The top three brands hold 66.39% of mentions. The top brand is mentioned 3.5 times as often as the average brand in its category.","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"section":"market-benchmark","value":"13.29%","label":"Share of voice by brand rank, all segments: Rank 3","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026","footnote":"The top three brands hold 66.39% of mentions. The top brand is mentioned 3.5 times as often as the average brand in its category.","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"section":"market-benchmark","value":"33.61%","label":"Share of voice by brand rank, all segments: Everyone else","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026","footnote":"The top three brands hold 66.39% of mentions. The top brand is mentioned 3.5 times as often as the average brand in its category.","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"section":"market-benchmark","value":"26.99","label":"Distinct domains cited per answer, by engine: Grok","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026","footnote":"AthenaHQ's chart names six engines. The seventh value, 5.77, carries only an icon, so it is assigned to Copilot as the one engine left. Independent 2026 counts differ: about 26 citations per Google AI Mode travel answer (Search Agency, July 2026) and 15.22 sources per AI Overview (SE Ranking, February 2026).","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"},{"id":"search-agency-guides","publisher":"Search Agency","url":"https://search.agency/blog/ai-mode-travel-guides-still-perform"},{"id":"seranking-gemini3","publisher":"SE Ranking","url":"https://seranking.com/blog/gemini-3-impact-on-ai-overviews/"}]},{"section":"market-benchmark","value":"18.86","label":"Distinct domains cited per answer, by engine: ChatGPT","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026","footnote":"AthenaHQ's chart names six engines. The seventh value, 5.77, carries only an icon, so it is assigned to Copilot as the one engine left. Independent 2026 counts differ: about 26 citations per Google AI Mode travel answer (Search Agency, July 2026) and 15.22 sources per AI Overview (SE Ranking, February 2026).","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"},{"id":"search-agency-guides","publisher":"Search Agency","url":"https://search.agency/blog/ai-mode-travel-guides-still-perform"},{"id":"seranking-gemini3","publisher":"SE Ranking","url":"https://seranking.com/blog/gemini-3-impact-on-ai-overviews/"}]},{"section":"market-benchmark","value":"11.16","label":"Distinct domains cited per answer, by engine: Google AI Mode","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026","footnote":"AthenaHQ's chart names six engines. The seventh value, 5.77, carries only an icon, so it is assigned to Copilot as the one engine left. Independent 2026 counts differ: about 26 citations per Google AI Mode travel answer (Search Agency, July 2026) and 15.22 sources per AI Overview (SE Ranking, February 2026).","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"},{"id":"search-agency-guides","publisher":"Search Agency","url":"https://search.agency/blog/ai-mode-travel-guides-still-perform"},{"id":"seranking-gemini3","publisher":"SE Ranking","url":"https://seranking.com/blog/gemini-3-impact-on-ai-overviews/"}]},{"section":"market-benchmark","value":"8.74","label":"Distinct domains cited per answer, by engine: Google AI Overviews","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026","footnote":"AthenaHQ's chart names six engines. The seventh value, 5.77, carries only an icon, so it is assigned to Copilot as the one engine left. Independent 2026 counts differ: about 26 citations per Google AI Mode travel answer (Search Agency, July 2026) and 15.22 sources per AI Overview (SE Ranking, February 2026).","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"},{"id":"search-agency-guides","publisher":"Search Agency","url":"https://search.agency/blog/ai-mode-travel-guides-still-perform"},{"id":"seranking-gemini3","publisher":"SE Ranking","url":"https://seranking.com/blog/gemini-3-impact-on-ai-overviews/"}]},{"section":"market-benchmark","value":"8.23","label":"Distinct domains cited per answer, by engine: Perplexity","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026","footnote":"AthenaHQ's chart names six engines. The seventh value, 5.77, carries only an icon, so it is assigned to Copilot as the one engine left. Independent 2026 counts differ: about 26 citations per Google AI Mode travel answer (Search Agency, July 2026) and 15.22 sources per AI Overview (SE Ranking, February 2026).","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"},{"id":"search-agency-guides","publisher":"Search Agency","url":"https://search.agency/blog/ai-mode-travel-guides-still-perform"},{"id":"seranking-gemini3","publisher":"SE Ranking","url":"https://seranking.com/blog/gemini-3-impact-on-ai-overviews/"}]},{"section":"market-benchmark","value":"6.14","label":"Distinct domains cited per answer, by engine: Gemini","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026","footnote":"AthenaHQ's chart names six engines. The seventh value, 5.77, carries only an icon, so it is assigned to Copilot as the one engine left. Independent 2026 counts differ: about 26 citations per Google AI Mode travel answer (Search Agency, July 2026) and 15.22 sources per AI Overview (SE Ranking, February 2026).","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"},{"id":"search-agency-guides","publisher":"Search Agency","url":"https://search.agency/blog/ai-mode-travel-guides-still-perform"},{"id":"seranking-gemini3","publisher":"SE Ranking","url":"https://seranking.com/blog/gemini-3-impact-on-ai-overviews/"}]},{"section":"market-benchmark","value":"5.77","label":"Distinct domains cited per answer, by engine: Copilot","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026","footnote":"AthenaHQ's chart names six engines. The seventh value, 5.77, carries only an icon, so it is assigned to Copilot as the one engine left. Independent 2026 counts differ: about 26 citations per Google AI Mode travel answer (Search Agency, July 2026) and 15.22 sources per AI Overview (SE Ranking, February 2026).","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"},{"id":"search-agency-guides","publisher":"Search Agency","url":"https://search.agency/blog/ai-mode-travel-guides-still-perform"},{"id":"seranking-gemini3","publisher":"SE Ranking","url":"https://seranking.com/blog/gemini-3-impact-on-ai-overviews/"}]},{"section":"source-landscape","value":"21.85%","label":"of citations across every category come from reddit.com, pooled across seven engines","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"section":"source-landscape","value":"0","label":"of the ten most cited sources is a brand's own site","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"section":"source-landscape","value":"73%","label":"fall in ChatGPT's daily Reddit citations over two days in August 2026. Other engines held flat.","sourceNote":"Otterly, 27 August 2026","grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"otterly-reddit","publisher":"Otterly","url":"https://otterly.ai/blog/chatgpt-reddit-citations/"}]},{"section":"source-landscape","value":"76%","label":"of Gemini answers carried a citation in March 2026, down from 99% in February","sourceNote":"Seer Interactive, 82,000 responses","grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"seer-gemini","publisher":"Seer Interactive","url":"https://www.seerinteractive.com/insights/gemini-citations-decreased-23pp-why-that-matters"}]},{"section":"source-landscape","value":"21.85%","label":"Ten most cited domains, all segments, seven engines pooled: reddit.com","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026","footnote":"Community platforms, encyclopaedias and a few publishers. None is a brand's own site.","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"section":"source-landscape","value":"10.32%","label":"Ten most cited domains, all segments, seven engines pooled: youtube.com","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026","footnote":"Community platforms, encyclopaedias and a few publishers. None is a brand's own site.","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"section":"source-landscape","value":"7.34%","label":"Ten most cited domains, all segments, seven engines pooled: en.wikipedia.org","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026","footnote":"Community platforms, encyclopaedias and a few publishers. None is a brand's own site.","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"section":"source-landscape","value":"6.51%","label":"Ten most cited domains, all segments, seven engines pooled: linkedin.com","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026","footnote":"Community platforms, encyclopaedias and a few publishers. None is a brand's own site.","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"section":"source-landscape","value":"5.26%","label":"Ten most cited domains, all segments, seven engines pooled: forbes.com","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026","footnote":"Community platforms, encyclopaedias and a few publishers. None is a brand's own site.","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"section":"source-landscape","value":"3.99%","label":"Ten most cited domains, all segments, seven engines pooled: facebook.com","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026","footnote":"Community platforms, encyclopaedias and a few publishers. None is a brand's own site.","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"section":"source-landscape","value":"3.54%","label":"Ten most cited domains, all segments, seven engines pooled: medium.com","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026","footnote":"Community platforms, encyclopaedias and a few publishers. None is a brand's own site.","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"section":"source-landscape","value":"3.44%","label":"Ten most cited domains, all segments, seven engines pooled: nerdwallet.com","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026","footnote":"Community platforms, encyclopaedias and a few publishers. None is a brand's own site.","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"section":"source-landscape","value":"2.55%","label":"Ten most cited domains, all segments, seven engines pooled: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026","footnote":"Community platforms, encyclopaedias and a few publishers. None is a brand's own site.","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"section":"source-landscape","value":"2.53%","label":"Ten most cited domains, all segments, seven engines pooled: amazon.com","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026","footnote":"Community platforms, encyclopaedias and a few publishers. None is a brand's own site.","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"section":"travel-sources","value":"32.30%","label":"of pooled travel citations come from Tripadvisor (tripadvisor.com and tripadvisor.co.uk), Booking.com, Expedia and Kayak","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026, travel segment","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"section":"travel-sources","value":"55.3%","label":"of citations for hotel prompts across ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini went to OTAs. Hotel websites took 13.6%.","sourceNote":"Cloudbeds, 810 prompts, six destinations, 145 properties","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"cloudbeds-ai","publisher":"Cloudbeds","url":"https://www.cloudbeds.com/hotel-ai-recommendations/data/"}]},{"section":"travel-sources","value":"11% to 55%","label":"of citations go to OTAs, metasearch and review sites across 2026 studies, depending on engine and question","sourceNote":"Search Agency (AI Mode travel guides), Sitter (AI Mode hotels) and Cloudbeds (hotel prompts on three engines)","grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"search-agency-guides","publisher":"Search Agency","url":"https://search.agency/blog/ai-mode-travel-guides-still-perform"},{"id":"sitter-hotels","publisher":"Nicolas Sitter","url":"https://nicolassitter.com/research/google-ai-mode-hotel-study-2026"},{"id":"cloudbeds-ai","publisher":"Cloudbeds","url":"https://www.cloudbeds.com/hotel-ai-recommendations/data/"}]},{"section":"travel-sources","value":"21.2%","label":"of Google AI Mode hotel citations went to hotels' own websites","sourceNote":"Sitter, 4,000 queries across 8 cities, February 2026","grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"sitter-hotels","publisher":"Nicolas Sitter","url":"https://nicolassitter.com/research/google-ai-mode-hotel-study-2026"}]},{"section":"travel-sources","value":"21.97%","label":"Ten most cited domains, Travel and Hospitality, seven engines pooled: reddit.com","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026, travel segment","footnote":"Six of the market's ten most cited domains are replaced in travel. LinkedIn and Forbes drop out. Tripadvisor, Booking.com, Expedia and Kayak come in.","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"section":"travel-sources","value":"11.58%","label":"Ten most cited domains, Travel and Hospitality, seven engines pooled: facebook.com","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026, travel segment","footnote":"Six of the market's ten most cited domains are replaced in travel. LinkedIn and Forbes drop out. Tripadvisor, Booking.com, Expedia and Kayak come in.","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"section":"travel-sources","value":"11.38%","label":"Ten most cited domains, Travel and Hospitality, seven engines pooled: tripadvisor.com","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026, travel segment","footnote":"Six of the market's ten most cited domains are replaced in travel. LinkedIn and Forbes drop out. Tripadvisor, Booking.com, Expedia and Kayak come in.","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"section":"travel-sources","value":"9.43%","label":"Ten most cited domains, Travel and Hospitality, seven engines pooled: en.wikipedia.org","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026, travel segment","footnote":"Six of the market's ten most cited domains are replaced in travel. LinkedIn and Forbes drop out. Tripadvisor, Booking.com, Expedia and Kayak come in.","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"section":"travel-sources","value":"8.39%","label":"Ten most cited domains, Travel and Hospitality, seven engines pooled: youtube.com","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026, travel segment","footnote":"Six of the market's ten most cited domains are replaced in travel. LinkedIn and Forbes drop out. Tripadvisor, Booking.com, Expedia and Kayak come in.","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"section":"travel-sources","value":"7.13%","label":"Ten most cited domains, Travel and Hospitality, seven engines pooled: booking.com","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026, travel segment","footnote":"Six of the market's ten most cited domains are replaced in travel. LinkedIn and Forbes drop out. Tripadvisor, Booking.com, Expedia and Kayak come in.","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"section":"travel-sources","value":"6.58%","label":"Ten most cited domains, Travel and Hospitality, seven engines pooled: expedia.com","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026, travel segment","footnote":"Six of the market's ten most cited domains are replaced in travel. LinkedIn and Forbes drop out. Tripadvisor, Booking.com, Expedia and Kayak come in.","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"section":"travel-sources","value":"4.01%","label":"Ten most cited domains, Travel and Hospitality, seven engines pooled: instagram.com","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026, travel segment","footnote":"Six of the market's ten most cited domains are replaced in travel. LinkedIn and Forbes drop out. Tripadvisor, Booking.com, Expedia and Kayak come in.","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"section":"travel-sources","value":"3.65%","label":"Ten most cited domains, Travel and Hospitality, seven engines pooled: kayak.com","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026, travel segment","footnote":"Six of the market's ten most cited domains are replaced in travel. LinkedIn and Forbes drop out. Tripadvisor, Booking.com, Expedia and Kayak come in.","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"section":"travel-sources","value":"3.56%","label":"Ten most cited domains, Travel and Hospitality, seven engines pooled: tripadvisor.co.uk","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026, travel segment","footnote":"Six of the market's ten most cited domains are replaced in travel. LinkedIn and Forbes drop out. Tripadvisor, Booking.com, Expedia and Kayak come in.","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"section":"travel-sources","value":"46.08%","label":"Where AI enters a travel brand's own site: /products","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026, travel segment","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"section":"travel-sources","value":"15.29%","label":"Where AI enters a travel brand's own site: /blog","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026, travel segment","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"section":"travel-sources","value":"14.50%","label":"Where AI enters a travel brand's own site: /home","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026, travel segment","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"section":"travel-sources","value":"24.13%","label":"Where AI enters a travel brand's own site: Other paths","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026, travel segment","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"section":"content-intent","value":"59.39%","label":"of citations are informational or comparative content","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"section":"content-intent","value":"56.8%","label":"of citations in Google AI Mode travel answers go to independent guides and blogs","sourceNote":"Search Agency, July 2026","grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"search-agency-guides","publisher":"Search Agency","url":"https://search.agency/blog/ai-mode-travel-guides-still-perform"}]},{"section":"content-intent","value":"19.42%","label":"of Gemini's citations go to learning and education content, the most of the three engines shown","sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026","grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"section":"volatility","value":"3.4 weeks","label":"Half-life of a citation, by engine: ChatGPT","sourceNote":"Scrunch and Stacker, 3.5 million citation events, September 2025 to March 2026","footnote":"The Google bar is drawn at the midpoint of the published range.","grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"scrunch-half-life","publisher":"Scrunch","url":"https://scrunch.com/blog/half-life-of-ai-citations"}]},{"section":"volatility","value":"4.3 to 4.8 weeks","label":"Half-life of a citation, by engine: Google surfaces","sourceNote":"Scrunch and Stacker, 3.5 million citation events, September 2025 to March 2026","footnote":"The Google bar is drawn at the midpoint of the published range.","grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"scrunch-half-life","publisher":"Scrunch","url":"https://scrunch.com/blog/half-life-of-ai-citations"}]},{"section":"volatility","value":"5.8 weeks","label":"Half-life of a citation, by engine: Perplexity","sourceNote":"Scrunch and Stacker, 3.5 million citation events, September 2025 to March 2026","footnote":"The Google bar is drawn at the midpoint of the published range.","grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"scrunch-half-life","publisher":"Scrunch","url":"https://scrunch.com/blog/half-life-of-ai-citations"}]},{"section":"nz-hotel-audit","value":"79.4%","label":"of fully evaluated hotel websites scored Weak or Critical, below 50 out of 100. Three, or 2.8%, scored Strong.","sourceNote":"AuraScope audit, 107 of 147 hotels, 10 May 2026","grade":"aurascope","sources":[{"id":"aurascope-nz-audit","publisher":"AuraScope"}]},{"section":"nz-hotel-audit","value":"52.3%","label":"publish no machine-readable dates, so an engine cannot tell how current a page is.","sourceNote":"AuraScope audit, 10 May 2026","grade":"aurascope","sources":[{"id":"aurascope-nz-audit","publisher":"AuraScope"}]},{"section":"nz-hotel-audit","value":"23.4%","label":"have no structured data at all: no JSON-LD, Microdata or RDFa.","sourceNote":"AuraScope audit, 10 May 2026","grade":"aurascope","sources":[{"id":"aurascope-nz-audit","publisher":"AuraScope"}]},{"section":"nz-hotel-audit","value":"2.8% (3)","label":"107 New Zealand hotel websites by on-page score band: Strong, 70 or more","sourceNote":"AuraScope audit, 10 May 2026","footnote":"The average score was 35.8.","grade":"aurascope","sources":[{"id":"aurascope-nz-audit","publisher":"AuraScope"}]},{"section":"nz-hotel-audit","value":"17.8% (19)","label":"107 New Zealand hotel websites by on-page score band: Moderate, 50 to 69","sourceNote":"AuraScope audit, 10 May 2026","footnote":"The average score was 35.8.","grade":"aurascope","sources":[{"id":"aurascope-nz-audit","publisher":"AuraScope"}]},{"section":"nz-hotel-audit","value":"39.3% (42)","label":"107 New Zealand hotel websites by on-page score band: Weak, 30 to 49","sourceNote":"AuraScope audit, 10 May 2026","footnote":"The average score was 35.8.","grade":"aurascope","sources":[{"id":"aurascope-nz-audit","publisher":"AuraScope"}]},{"section":"nz-hotel-audit","value":"40.2% (43)","label":"107 New Zealand hotel websites by on-page score band: Critical, under 30","sourceNote":"AuraScope audit, 10 May 2026","footnote":"The average score was 35.8.","grade":"aurascope","sources":[{"id":"aurascope-nz-audit","publisher":"AuraScope"}]},{"section":"airlines","value":"74.6%","label":"of airline mentions in ChatGPT flight conversations carried no link, against 8.8% for OTAs and 8.6% for metasearch","sourceNote":"PROS, reported by Travel Weekly, 4 November 2025","grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"travelweekly-pros","publisher":"Travel Weekly","url":"https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Travel-Technology/OTAs-have-edge-over-airlines-ChatGPT"}]},{"section":"airlines","value":"2.3%","label":"of airline website referral traffic came from ChatGPT in September 2025, up from 1.8% in August. ChatGPT sent 95% of airlines' AI referrals.","sourceNote":"PROS, reported by Travel Weekly, 4 November 2025","grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"travelweekly-pros","publisher":"Travel Weekly","url":"https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Travel-Technology/OTAs-have-edge-over-airlines-ChatGPT"}]},{"section":"airlines","value":"500+","label":"airlines bookable through Meta's Muse in the US since 9 September 2026. Google AI Mode tracks flight prices but does not book, and the Gemini app \"can't book a flight or hotel for you\".","sourceNote":"Duffel and Travel Daily News, September 2026; Google, 27 August 2026; Gemini help centre","grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"duffel-muse","publisher":"Duffel","url":"https://duffel.com/blog/millions-of-users-can-now-use-duffel-to-search-book-and-manage-holidays-on-muse-the-new-personal-ai-agent-from-meta"},{"id":"tdn-muse","publisher":"Travel Daily News","url":"https://www.traveldailynews.com/technology/metas-muse-adds-duffel-for-ai-powered-travel-bookings/"},{"id":"techcrunch-ai-mode","publisher":"TechCrunch","url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/27/googles-ai-mode-can-now-track-flight-prices-help-book-hotels-and-more/"},{"id":"gemini-help","publisher":"Google","url":"https://support.google.com/gemini/answer/16622256"}]},{"section":"personal-agents","value":"50%+","label":"of transactions on Instinct, an invite-only personal agent, are travel, according to its founder. He says the platform is approaching US$1 billion in annual transactions but gave no basis for the figure.","sourceNote":"TechCrunch, 29 September 2026, from a podcast interview","grade":"secondary","sources":[{"id":"techcrunch-instinct","publisher":"TechCrunch","url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/29/instinct-founder-said-more-than-50-of-transactions-on-the-platform-are-travel-related/"}]},{"section":"personal-agents","value":"2 routes","label":"for a personal agent to book: a direct connection to supply, as Muse has with Duffel for flights, or a browser operated like a person, as Muse uses for hotels.","sourceNote":"Skift, 9 September 2026","grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"skift-muse","publisher":"Skift","url":"https://skift.com/2026/09/09/meta-says-its-muse-agent-books-travel-heres-what-that-actually-means/"}]},{"section":"new-zealand","value":"256,600","label":"overseas visitor arrivals in July 2026, 100.4% of July 2019 and the first month above pre-COVID levels","sourceNote":"Stats NZ, 14 September 2026","grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"statsnz-july","publisher":"Stats NZ","url":"https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/international-travel-july-2026/"}]},{"section":"new-zealand","value":"3.69 million","label":"arrivals in the year to July 2026, up 305,000. Australians made up 53% of July arrivals.","sourceNote":"Stats NZ, 14 September 2026","grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"statsnz-july","publisher":"Stats NZ","url":"https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/international-travel-july-2026/"}]},{"section":"new-zealand","value":"-5%","label":"forecast change in Australia and New Zealand gross travel bookings in 2026, to US$37.4 billion. Hotels -9%, airlines -1%.","sourceNote":"Phocuswright, August 2026","grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"phocuswright-anz","publisher":"Phocuswright","url":"https://www.phocuswright.com/Travel-Research/Research-Updates/2026/why-the-anz-travel-market-is-contracting-in-2026-and-what-recovers-by-2029"}]},{"section":"new-zealand","value":"105.1%","label":"Visitor arrivals in the year to June 2026 as a share of 2019, by market: United States","sourceNote":"Stats NZ, year ended June 2026, read through a release mirror","grade":"secondary","sources":[{"id":"statsnz-june-year","publisher":"Stats NZ","url":"https://www.miragenews.com/annual-visitor-arrivals-up-9-percent-1727095/"}]},{"section":"new-zealand","value":"104.7%","label":"Visitor arrivals in the year to June 2026 as a share of 2019, by market: Australia","sourceNote":"Stats NZ, year ended June 2026, read through a release mirror","grade":"secondary","sources":[{"id":"statsnz-june-year","publisher":"Stats NZ","url":"https://www.miragenews.com/annual-visitor-arrivals-up-9-percent-1727095/"}]},{"section":"new-zealand","value":"84.0%","label":"Visitor arrivals in the year to June 2026 as a share of 2019, by market: United Kingdom","sourceNote":"Stats NZ, year ended June 2026, read through a release mirror","grade":"secondary","sources":[{"id":"statsnz-june-year","publisher":"Stats NZ","url":"https://www.miragenews.com/annual-visitor-arrivals-up-9-percent-1727095/"}]},{"section":"new-zealand","value":"74.9%","label":"Visitor arrivals in the year to June 2026 as a share of 2019, by market: China","sourceNote":"Stats NZ, year ended June 2026, read through a release mirror","grade":"secondary","sources":[{"id":"statsnz-june-year","publisher":"Stats NZ","url":"https://www.miragenews.com/annual-visitor-arrivals-up-9-percent-1727095/"}]}],"tables":[{"section":"the-shift","id":"before-and-today","caption":"Traditional search against AI search","columns":["Traditional search","AI search"],"rows":[{"cells":["People clicked a link and found the answer on a publisher's site.","The answer sits on the results page. 68% of Google searches now end without a click."],"grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"growth-memo","publisher":"Growth Memo","url":"https://www.growth-memo.com/p/ai-halftime-report-h1-2026"}]},{"cells":["Search sent sites a steady flow of visitors.","Search referrals fell 22% for large publishers and 60% for small ones over two years. Google Search referrals to publishers fell 34% in 2025."],"grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"axios-chartbeat","publisher":"Axios","url":"https://www.axios.com/2026/03/17/chartbeat-search-traffic-ai-chatbots"}]},{"cells":["Visitors arrived early in their research.","In May 2026, AI referrals to US travel sites stayed 70% longer and bounced 41% less than other traffic, and converted 28% worse."],"grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"adobe-travel","publisher":"Adobe Digital Insights","url":"https://business.adobe.com/blog/adobe-report-ai-traffic-travel-sites-surges-200-percent"}]}],"sourceNote":"Chartbeat via Axios, 17 March 2026 (December 2023 to December 2025); Growth Memo H1 2026 report; Adobe Digital Insights, 17 June 2026"},{"section":"trust-gap","id":"intermediary-statements","caption":"What the booking platforms say about AI referrals","columns":["Company","Statement","Date"],"rows":[{"cells":["Booking Holdings","LLM referrals are \"less than 1% of total room nights\", with \"no material change over the last few months or quarters\". Direct mix is flat in the mid-60s. Marketing spend is up 11%.","Q2 2026 call, 4 August 2026"],"grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"booking-q2","publisher":"PhocusWire","url":"https://www.phocuswire.com/news/finance/booking-holdings-q2-2026-earnings"}]},{"cells":["Expedia Group","Answer-engine optimisation is \"still a small channel but one of the fastest growing\". Agentic traffic shows \"higher purchase consideration\".","Q2 2026 call, 5 August 2026"],"grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"expedia-q2","publisher":"PhocusWire","url":"https://www.phocuswire.com/news/finance/expedia-group-q2-2026-earnings"}]},{"cells":["Airbnb","Will launch its own agent in 2027. Stays out of ChatGPT apps and treats assistants as a source of traffic.","Skift Global Forum, 23 September 2026"],"grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"skift-airbnb","publisher":"Skift","url":"https://skift.com/2026/09/23/brian-chesky-commits-to-launching-an-ai-agent-in-2027/"}]}],"sourceNote":"PhocusWire earnings coverage, 4 and 5 August 2026; Skift, 23 September 2026"},{"section":"source-landscape","id":"sources-by-engine","caption":"Independent 2026 measurements, engine by engine","columns":["Engine","Finding","Study"],"rows":[{"cells":["ChatGPT","Across all US queries, not only travel: reddit.com 16.8% of mentions, en.wikipedia.org 7.0%, youtube.com 2.5%. tripadvisor.com is 21st at 1.5%. Booking.com and Expedia are outside the top 50.","Ahrefs Brand Radar, US, updated 2 September 2026"],"grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"ahrefs-chatgpt","publisher":"Ahrefs","url":"https://ahrefs.com/blog/most-cited-domains-in-chatgpt/"}]},{"cells":["Google AI Mode, travel prompts","Independent travel blogs 56.8%, OTAs and booking platforms 11.1%, video 9.7%, forums 7.3%, social 5.1%, Google properties 4.5%, editorial 4.2%, official tourism 1.2%. About 26 citations per answer.","Search Agency, 100 unbranded travel prompts, 9 July 2026"],"grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"search-agency-guides","publisher":"Search Agency","url":"https://search.agency/blog/ai-mode-travel-guides-still-perform"}]},{"cells":["Gemini","Answers with any citation fell from 99% to 76% in a fortnight. Within cited answers, Reddit 44% and Wikipedia 33%. YouTube fell from 18% to 3%. Best-of listicles lost 40%.","Seer Interactive, 16 February to 2 March 2026"],"grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"seer-gemini","publisher":"Seer Interactive","url":"https://www.seerinteractive.com/insights/gemini-citations-decreased-23pp-why-that-matters"}]},{"cells":["Four platforms, travel","Tripadvisor is the most cited travel source and Reddit ranks fifth or sixth. Reddit is over-represented on AI Overviews and AI Mode compared with ChatGPT and Gemini.","Scrunch, December 2025 prompts, published 5 February 2026"],"grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"scrunch-reddit","publisher":"Scrunch","url":"https://scrunch.com/blog/reddit-paradox-industry-breakdown-of-most-cited-ai-sources"}]}],"sourceNote":"Studies named per row"},{"section":"travel-sources","id":"intermediaries-by-study","caption":"Intermediary share of citations, by study","columns":["Study","Intermediaries","Suppliers and others"],"rows":[{"cells":["ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini, hotel prompts (Cloudbeds)","OTAs 55.3%.","Hotel websites 13.6%. 72.4% of recommended properties were affiliated with a hotel brand or group."],"grade":"vendor","sources":[{"id":"cloudbeds-ai","publisher":"Cloudbeds","url":"https://www.cloudbeds.com/hotel-ai-recommendations/data/"}]},{"cells":["Google AI Mode, hotel queries, February 2026 (Sitter)","Metasearch and reviews 29.2%, OTAs 17.3%. tripadvisor.com 16.5%, booking.com 3.9%, expedia.com 2.7%.","Hotel websites 21.2%, Google properties 19.9%, editorial 10.9%, user-generated 1.4%."],"grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"sitter-hotels","publisher":"Nicolas Sitter","url":"https://nicolassitter.com/research/google-ai-mode-hotel-study-2026"}]},{"cells":["Google AI Mode, travel guides, July 2026 (Search Agency)","OTAs and booking platforms 11.1%.","Independent blogs 56.8%, video 9.7%, forums 7.3%, social 5.1%, official tourism 1.2%."],"grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"search-agency-guides","publisher":"Search Agency","url":"https://search.agency/blog/ai-mode-travel-guides-still-perform"}]},{"cells":["ChatGPT, all US queries, not only travel, September 2026 (Ahrefs)","tripadvisor.com 1.5%, ranked 21st. Booking.com and Expedia outside the top 50.","reddit.com 16.8%, Wikipedia 7.0%, YouTube 2.5%."],"grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"ahrefs-chatgpt","publisher":"Ahrefs","url":"https://ahrefs.com/blog/most-cited-domains-in-chatgpt/"}]}],"sourceNote":"Studies named per row"},{"section":"content-intent","id":"content-intent-by-engine","caption":"Share of citations by content intent and engine, all segments","columns":["Intent","ChatGPT","Perplexity","Gemini","Market average"],"rows":[{"cells":["Informational","35.54%","36.74%","32.41%","36.23%"],"sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"cells":["Comparative, selection","23.82%","21.88%","21.80%","23.16%"],"sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"cells":["Acquisition, obtaining","15.54%","15.23%","12.80%","15.05%"],"sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"cells":["Learning, education","13.10%","13.73%","19.42%","13.43%"],"sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"cells":["Navigation, institutional","3.99%","4.22%","4.72%","3.70%"],"sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"cells":["Consumption, experience","3.24%","3.89%","3.08%","3.48%"],"sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"cells":["Updates, news","1.94%","1.47%","2.23%","1.84%"],"sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"cells":["Investigation, research","1.67%","1.68%","2.11%","1.81%"],"sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"cells":["Optimisation, improvement","1.17%","1.17%","1.43%","1.30%"],"sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]}],"sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026. Columns show the three engines AuraScope measures","grade":"vendor"},{"section":"travel-versus-market","id":"travel-versus-all-segments","caption":"Travel and Hospitality against all segments","columns":["Measure","All segments","Travel","Difference"],"rows":[{"cells":["Average brand mention rate","16.30%","17.75%","+1.45 pts"],"sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"cells":["Top brand mention rate","56.48%","56.63%","+0.15 pts"],"sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"cells":["Average citations of your own domain","16.05%","18.48%","+2.43 pts"],"sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"cells":["Share of voice, rank 1","33.64%","38.59%","+4.95 pts"],"sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"cells":["Top three combined share of voice","66.39%","71.44%","+5.05 pts"],"sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"cells":["AI entries via /blog","37.53%","15.29%","-22.24 pts"],"sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"cells":["AI entries via /products","13.79%","46.08%","+32.29 pts"],"sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"cells":["Informational content","36.23%","51.13%","+14.90 pts"],"sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"cells":["Comparative, selection","23.16%","14.56%","-8.60 pts"],"sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"cells":["Acquisition, obtaining","15.05%","7.68%","-7.37 pts"],"sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]},{"cells":["Updates, news","1.84%","9.23%","+7.39 pts"],"sources":[{"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf"}]}],"sourceNote":"AthenaHQ, State of AI Search 2026, travel segment (67 websites) against all segments (1,854 websites). The travel sample leans towards hotels and OTAs, so treat it as directional","grade":"vendor"},{"section":"volatility","id":"what-moved-the-numbers","caption":"What changed the numbers in 2026","columns":["Date","Event","Effect on measurement"],"rows":[{"cells":["February 2026","Gemini 3 arrived in AI Overviews. 42.4% of previously cited domains were replaced, and sources per Overview rose from 11.55 to 15.22.","Long-tail domains dropped out as the source count rose."],"grade":"secondary","sources":[{"id":"seranking-gemini3","publisher":"SE Ranking","url":"https://seranking.com/blog/gemini-3-impact-on-ai-overviews/"}]},{"cells":["16 February to 2 March 2026","Gemini's citation rate fell from 99% to 76%.","Fewer answers can be traced to any source."],"grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"seer-gemini","publisher":"Seer Interactive","url":"https://www.seerinteractive.com/insights/gemini-citations-decreased-23pp-why-that-matters"}]},{"cells":["8 and 14 August 2026","ChatGPT's Reddit citations stepped down twice, 73% in total. Other engines stayed flat.","A Reddit-led plan lost most of its ChatGPT value in a week."],"grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"otterly-reddit","publisher":"Otterly","url":"https://otterly.ai/blog/chatgpt-reddit-citations/"}]},{"cells":["31 August 2026","Google AI Mode began wrapping citations in google.com/searchviewer links.","Third-party tools can no longer see which domains AI Mode cites."],"grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"sitter-hotels","publisher":"Nicolas Sitter","url":"https://nicolassitter.com/research/google-ai-mode-hotel-study-2026"}]},{"cells":["15 September 2026","Cloudflare began blocking mixed-use AI crawlers by default on ad-supported pages for new and free-tier sites, and replaced pay-per-crawl with pay-per-use.","A site can drop out of AI retrieval without changing a page."],"grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"techcrunch-cloudflare","publisher":"TechCrunch","url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/01/cloudflares-new-policy-pushes-ai-companies-to-pay-for-publishers-content/"}]}],"sourceNote":"Studies and coverage named per row"},{"section":"airlines","id":"airline-journey","caption":"Where an airline can appear before the booking","columns":["Step","What the traveller asks","Who answers today","Where the airline can act"],"rows":[{"cells":["Destination","\"Two weeks in November, good food and plenty of nature. Where should we go?\"","Guides and blogs (56.8% of AI Mode travel citations), Reddit, Tripadvisor and Wikipedia. Official tourism sites 1.2%.","Destination content made with tourism bodies and local operators, with dated updates."],"grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"search-agency-guides","publisher":"Search Agency","url":"https://search.agency/blog/ai-mode-travel-guides-still-perform"}]},{"cells":["Route and airline","\"What's the best way to fly from London to Tokyo?\"","Metasearch, OTAs and forums. On ChatGPT, airlines are named without a link 74.6% of the time.","Route pages that answer the whole question: schedule, aircraft, cabin, connections and baggage."],"grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"travelweekly-pros","publisher":"Travel Weekly","url":"https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Travel-Technology/OTAs-have-edge-over-airlines-ChatGPT"}]},{"cells":["Cabin and product","\"Is premium economy worth it on an overnight flight with kids?\"","Reviews, YouTube and forums.","Comparison pages and explainers on the airline's own site, with dates and specifics."],"sources":[]},{"cells":["Booking","\"Book it.\"","Expedia's ChatGPT app searches and hands off to Expedia, and is live in New Zealand. Virgin Australia and Webjet apps search in ChatGPT and complete bookings on their own sites. Google AI Mode books hotels only, in the US only. Meta's Muse books US flights through Duffel.","The airline's own site stays the booking surface. The work is making it the place the assistant sends the traveller."],"grade":"secondary","sources":[{"id":"expedia-chatgpt","publisher":"Expedia","url":"https://www.expedia.com/product/expedia-in-chatgpt/"},{"id":"virgin-chatgpt","publisher":"Virgin Australia","url":"https://www.virginaustralia.com/us/en/newsroom/2026/5/virgin-australia-flight-search-lands-in-chatgpt/"},{"id":"twa-webjet","publisher":"Travel Weekly Australia","url":"https://travelweekly.com.au/webjet-launches-chatgpt-app-for-flight-and-hotel-searches/"},{"id":"techcrunch-ai-mode","publisher":"TechCrunch","url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/27/googles-ai-mode-can-now-track-flight-prices-help-book-hotels-and-more/"},{"id":"duffel-muse","publisher":"Duffel","url":"https://duffel.com/blog/millions-of-users-can-now-use-duffel-to-search-book-and-manage-holidays-on-muse-the-new-personal-ai-agent-from-meta"}]}],"sourceNote":"Travel Weekly, PROS data, 4 November 2025; TechCrunch, 27 August 2026; Expedia, February 2026; Virgin Australia newsroom, 2026; Travel Weekly Australia, 11 May 2026"},{"section":"agents-and-checkout","id":"agent-status","caption":"Checkout and booking moves by the big platforms, status at 1 October 2026","columns":["Date","Move","Status"],"rows":[{"cells":["5 March 2026","OpenAI retires Instant Checkout inside ChatGPT, \"prioritising making ChatGPT search and product discovery great\". Transactions move to apps and merchant sites.","Withdrawn"],"grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"skift-checkout","publisher":"Skift","url":"https://skift.com/2026/03/05/openai-chatgpt-checkout-walkback/"}]},{"cells":["9 February to 31 August 2026","ChatGPT ads go from a US pilot to Europe, then to a US$1 billion annualised run rate in under 200 days across more than 40 countries. Targeting uses the context of the conversation.","Live, revenue data"],"grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"openai-ads","publisher":"OpenAI","url":"https://openai.com/index/expanding-access-to-ai-with-chatgpt-ads/"}]},{"cells":["6 May 2026","Mindtrip completes flight checkout inside chat using Sabre and PayPal. Hotels to follow.","Live, no usage data"],"grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"skift-mindtrip","publisher":"Skift","url":"https://skift.com/2026/05/06/sabre-mindtrip-paypal-launch-agentic-ai-travel-booking/"}]},{"cells":["20 May 2026","Google's Universal Commerce Protocol checkout goes live in select US retail. Australia is named for \"the coming months\". New Zealand is not named.","Limited"],"grade":"secondary","sources":[{"id":"google-marketing-live","publisher":"Google","url":"https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/shopping/shopping-updates-google-marketing-live/"}]},{"cells":["9 August 2026","OpenAI shuts the ChatGPT Atlas browser and retires the consumer ChatGPT agent. Browser agent work moves to ChatGPT Work on paid plans and a Chrome extension.","Withdrawn, replaced"],"grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"openai-atlas","publisher":"OpenAI","url":"https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001371-evolving-atlas-into-chatgpt-for-browser-based-agentic-work"}]},{"cells":["27 August 2026","Google AI Mode books hotels in the US, in English, with Booking.com, Expedia, Hilton, Marriott, IHG, Wyndham, Priceline, Choice, Hotels.com and Trip.com. Google Pay handles checkout and the hotel or OTA stays merchant of record. Flights are not bookable, but prices can be tracked in 180+ countries. Other hotels cannot join yet: Google's UCP for Lodging onboarding and specs are \"coming soon\".","Live, US only, no usage data"],"grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"techcrunch-ai-mode","publisher":"TechCrunch","url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/27/googles-ai-mode-can-now-track-flight-prices-help-book-hotels-and-more/"},{"id":"skift-google-hotels","publisher":"Skift","url":"https://skift.com/2026/08/07/google-confirms-hotel-agentic-booking-is-now-in-testing/"},{"id":"google-ucp-lodging","publisher":"Google Developers","url":"https://developers.google.com/hotels/ucp"}]},{"cells":["23 September 2026","Airbnb commits to launching its own agent in 2027 and stays out of ChatGPT apps.","Announced"],"grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"skift-airbnb","publisher":"Skift","url":"https://skift.com/2026/09/23/brian-chesky-commits-to-launching-an-ai-agent-in-2027/"}]}],"sourceNote":"Announcements and coverage named per row"},{"section":"personal-agents","id":"personal-agents-booking","caption":"Personal agents and how they book travel, at 1 October 2026","columns":["Agent","Launched","How it books travel","Availability"],"rows":[{"cells":["Grok Bot (xAI)","11 August 2026, beta","A general agent on its own cloud computer, signed in to the user's accounts. It navigates sites and fills in forms. No travel partnership has been announced.","SuperGrok Heavy, Cursor Ultra and Cursor Teams Premium"],"grade":"secondary","sources":[{"id":"datacamp-grok-bot","publisher":"DataCamp","url":"https://www.datacamp.com/blog/grok-bot"}]},{"cells":["Muse (Meta)","9 September 2026 for travel","Flights through a direct Duffel integration with live inventory from 500+ airlines, paid by Stripe virtual card. Hotels by browsing consumer sites such as Expedia and Hotels.com.","Travel booking in the US only"],"grade":"primary","sources":[{"id":"duffel-muse","publisher":"Duffel","url":"https://duffel.com/blog/millions-of-users-can-now-use-duffel-to-search-book-and-manage-holidays-on-muse-the-new-personal-ai-agent-from-meta"},{"id":"skift-muse","publisher":"Skift","url":"https://skift.com/2026/09/09/meta-says-its-muse-agent-books-travel-heres-what-that-actually-means/"},{"id":"tdn-muse","publisher":"Travel Daily News","url":"https://www.traveldailynews.com/technology/metas-muse-adds-duffel-for-ai-powered-travel-bookings/"}]},{"cells":["Instinct","Invite-only","More than half of transactions are travel. Its founder describes requests such as \"I need to be in New York tonight\".","Invite-only"],"grade":"secondary","sources":[{"id":"techcrunch-instinct","publisher":"TechCrunch","url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/29/instinct-founder-said-more-than-50-of-transactions-on-the-platform-are-travel-related/"}]},{"cells":["dots (OpenAI)","29 September 2026","Takes actions for the user, including booking flights, according to launch coverage. OpenAI has not published how bookings are completed.","ChatGPT Pro and Business plans"],"grade":"secondary","sources":[{"id":"sfstandard-dots","publisher":"The San Francisco Standard","url":"https://sfstandard.com/2026/09/29/openai-launches-dots/"},{"id":"cbs-dots","publisher":"CBS News","url":"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sam-altman-openai-dots-chatgpt-agents-safety/"}]}],"sourceNote":"Announcements and coverage named per row"}],"sections":[{"id":"the-shift","part":"Where trips start","title":"Answers are replacing clicks","finding":"Search engines and assistants now answer the question themselves. Search referrals to publishers fell 22% to 60% over two years, and in travel the AI referrals that replace them convert 28% worse.","url":"https://aurascope.co/research/travel-ai-search/#the-shift"},{"id":"where-trips-start","part":"Where trips start","title":"Planning a trip with AI is now normal","finding":"ChatGPT alone has more than a billion weekly users, and AI-sourced traffic to US travel sites nearly tripled in the year to May 2026.","url":"https://aurascope.co/research/travel-ai-search/#where-trips-start"},{"id":"trust-gap","part":"Where trips start","title":"Booking is where travellers still hold back","finding":"53% of travellers are happy for AI to suggest a trip, but only 8% are comfortable booking through it. The booking platforms see the same: AI referrals are growing from a small base.","url":"https://aurascope.co/research/travel-ai-search/#trust-gap"},{"id":"nz-tech-expo-survey","part":"Where trips start","title":"At NZ Tech Expo, AI planned the trip and booking sites took the booking","finding":"NZ Tech Expo attendees (n=89), not a general traveller sample. 88.8% had used an AI assistant to plan a trip, but only 1 of 79 users had let one book. Most would let AI book and pay if they can approve the choice and see the full price first.","url":"https://aurascope.co/research/travel-ai-search/#nz-tech-expo-survey"},{"id":"market-benchmark","part":"Inside the answer","title":"Most brands are missing from most answers","finding":"Category leaders appear in AI answers three and a half times as often as the average brand. Even when a brand appears, the answer usually cites someone else's site.","url":"https://aurascope.co/research/travel-ai-search/#market-benchmark"},{"id":"source-landscape","part":"Inside the answer","title":"The sources AI trusts change by engine","finding":"No single list of sources holds across engines. Reddit is the clearest case: it leads on Google's AI surfaces, and its weight on ChatGPT swung sharply in August 2026.","url":"https://aurascope.co/research/travel-ai-search/#source-landscape"},{"id":"travel-sources","part":"Inside the answer","title":"In travel, OTAs and review sites hold 11% to 55% of citations","finding":"How much the OTAs and review sites hold depends on what the traveller asks. Hotel questions send most citations to OTAs. Open travel questions send most to independent blogs.","url":"https://aurascope.co/research/travel-ai-search/#travel-sources"},{"id":"content-intent","part":"Inside the answer","title":"AI cites explanations first and comparisons second","finding":"AI cites pages that explain before pages that compare, and pages that compare before pages that sell.","url":"https://aurascope.co/research/travel-ai-search/#content-intent"},{"id":"travel-versus-market","part":"Inside the answer","title":"In travel, AI reads product pages first","finding":"AI enters a travel brand's site through product pages 46.08% of the time, against 13.79% across all markets, so room, route and fare pages are read first. Travel answers also lean on content that explains rather than compares.","url":"https://aurascope.co/research/travel-ai-search/#travel-versus-market"},{"id":"volatility","part":"Where brands lose ground","title":"Citations fade within weeks","finding":"A ChatGPT citation has a half-life of 3.4 weeks, Perplexity 5.8 weeks and Google's surfaces 4.3 to 4.8 weeks. Visibility has to be measured continuously, not once.","url":"https://aurascope.co/research/travel-ai-search/#volatility"},{"id":"nz-hotel-audit","part":"Where brands lose ground","title":"Most New Zealand hotel websites are hard for AI to read","finding":"In May 2026 AuraScope audited the websites of 147 New Zealand luxury and boutique hotels. Of the 107 we could evaluate fully, 79.4% scored Weak or Critical on the on-page signals AI engines use to read and date a site.","url":"https://aurascope.co/research/travel-ai-search/#nz-hotel-audit"},{"id":"airlines","part":"Where brands lose ground","title":"Airlines are named in answers but rarely linked","finding":"In ChatGPT flight conversations, airlines were named without a link 74.6% of the time. OTAs and metasearch sites went unlinked less than 9% of the time.","url":"https://aurascope.co/research/travel-ai-search/#airlines"},{"id":"agents-and-checkout","part":"From answer to booking","title":"The answer engines held back from checkout","finding":"OpenAI retired in-chat checkout in March 2026 and built a US$1 billion advertising run rate instead. Google AI Mode books hotels, in the US only. Neither books flights.","url":"https://aurascope.co/research/travel-ai-search/#agents-and-checkout"},{"id":"personal-agents","part":"From answer to booking","title":"Personal agents have started booking travel","finding":"Meta, OpenAI and xAI launched personal agents between August and September 2026, and Instinct's founder says more than half of its transactions are travel. Muse books flights through a direct connection and hotels by browsing consumer sites.","url":"https://aurascope.co/research/travel-ai-search/#personal-agents"},{"id":"what-to-do","part":"What to do now","title":"What travel brands can do now","finding":"Work on visibility now: be readable, cited and accurate at each question in the trip, and measure it as a trend. Run bookability as a separate track, because personal agents have started to book.","url":"https://aurascope.co/research/travel-ai-search/#what-to-do"},{"id":"new-zealand","part":"Appendix: New Zealand context","title":"New Zealand arrivals passed 2019 levels in July 2026","finding":"New Zealand had 256,600 overseas visitor arrivals in July 2026, 100.4% of July 2019 and the first month above pre-COVID levels. Gross travel bookings in Australia and New Zealand are forecast to fall 5% this year.","url":"https://aurascope.co/research/travel-ai-search/#new-zealand"}],"methodNotes":["AthenaHQ's State of AI Search 2026 is a vendor dataset from a company that sells generative-engine-optimisation software. It pools seven engines (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Grok, Copilot, Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode), is weighted towards the US and covers December 2025 to March 2026. It tracks 1,854 active websites across all segments and 67 in Travel and Hospitality, a sample that leans towards hotels and OTAs. Prompt volume and site selection are not published. This report uses it for structure and relative comparisons, not for absolute claims.","Independent 2026 measurements are named beside each figure with their sample, engine and month. None is peer reviewed, and most come from measurement vendors. Where two vendors disagree, as they do on Reddit's weight in ChatGPT, both are shown.","This is an evidence review, not a meta-analysis. It gathers 2026 studies, surveys and company statements that measure different things, and reads them side by side rather than pooling them statistically.","AuraScope's own survey asked NZ Tech Expo attendees in Auckland how they planned and booked their last stay (n=89, 18 to 24 September 2026). It is not a general traveller sample: 70.8% of respondents work in technology or AI, including 7.9% who also work in travel.","AuraScope's other contribution is one small audit: the on-page signals of 147 New Zealand luxury and boutique hotel websites, measured on 10 May 2026, with 107 evaluated fully. It measures readability, not presence in AI answers.","Surveys record stated preference, not observed behaviour. None of the external surveys samples New Zealand travellers, and AuraScope's own survey samples tech expo attendees, not travellers in general.","AuraScope measures ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini. Google AI Overviews and AI Mode appear here as third-party context only.","Every 2026 figure is dated. Anything older than November 2025 is labelled."],"partIntros":{"Where trips start":"A trip now starts with a question, not a search. This part shows how far AI planning has spread, and where it stops: at the booking.","Inside the answer":"When AI answers a travel question, it names a few brands and leans on other people's sources. This part shows who gets named, which sources get cited and what kind of content they are.","Where brands lose ground":"Appearing in an answer once is not enough. Citations fade within weeks, most hotel websites we audited are hard for AI to read, and airlines get named without the link.","From answer to booking":"The answer engines have held back from taking the booking. Personal agents have not, and the way they book raises the stakes on everything above.","What to do now":"What the evidence asks of a travel brand today.","Appendix: New Zealand context":"Context for New Zealand readers: arrivals are back, budgets are not."},"keyTerms":[{"term":"Answer engine","definition":"A service that answers a question in its own words instead of listing links: ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode."},{"term":"Personal agent","definition":"Software that acts for one person over time, such as Meta's Muse or OpenAI's dots. It can browse sites, fill in forms and, in some cases, book."},{"term":"Citation","definition":"A link or named source an answer engine shows as the basis for its answer."},{"term":"Grounding","definition":"Basing an answer on a page the engine actually read, rather than on what the model already remembers."},{"term":"Half-life","definition":"How long it takes for half of the citations a source holds today to disappear from answers."},{"term":"Mention rate","definition":"The share of answers about a category that name a given brand."},{"term":"Share of voice","definition":"A brand's share of all brand mentions across a set of answers."},{"term":"OTA","definition":"Online travel agency, such as Booking.com or Expedia."},{"term":"Metasearch","definition":"A site that compares prices from many sellers and sends the traveller elsewhere to book, such as Kayak or Google Flights."},{"term":"LLM referral","definition":"A visit or booking that arrives from a link inside an AI answer. LLM stands for large language model."},{"term":"Visibility","definition":"Whether AI can find, read, cite and recommend a brand and its own facts."},{"term":"Bookability","definition":"Whether an agent can complete a reservation, through a booking engine, a direct connection or a checkout protocol."},{"term":"Look-to-book","definition":"The number of searches or page loads for each booking made. Agents that browse can push it up."},{"term":"Merchant of record","definition":"The business that takes the payment and owns the transaction with the traveller."},{"term":"UCP","definition":"Universal Commerce Protocol: Google's standard for agents to complete purchases. A version for hotels has been announced but is not open yet."},{"term":"HTTP 403 and bot walls","definition":"A 403 is the code a server returns when it refuses a request. Bot-protection settings, often in a CDN such as Cloudflare, can return it to AI crawlers and agents."},{"term":"Pooled dataset","definition":"Figures combined across several engines into one number, which can hide large differences between them."}],"sources":[{"number":1,"id":"athena","publisher":"AthenaHQ","title":"State of AI Search 2026","dated":"2026","url":"https://athenahq.ai/reports/Athena-State-of-AI-Search-Report-2026.pdf","note":"Vendor dataset. Seven engines pooled, US-weighted, December 2025 to March 2026."},{"number":2,"id":"similarweb","publisher":"Similarweb","title":"AI referral traffic by industry","dated":"June 2025 to May 2026","url":"https://aisearch.similarweb.com/blog/ai-referral-traffic-by-industry/"},{"number":3,"id":"expedia-trust-gap","publisher":"Expedia Group","title":"The AI Trust Gap","dated":"14 April 2026","url":"https://ir.expediagroup.com/news-and-events/news/news-details/2026/Expedia-Group-Reveals-The-AI-Trust-Gap-Travelers-Embrace-AI-for-Planning-but-Rely-on-Trusted-Brands-to-Book/default.aspx"},{"number":4,"id":"booking-q2","publisher":"PhocusWire","title":"Booking Holdings Q2 2026 earnings","dated":"4 August 2026","url":"https://www.phocuswire.com/news/finance/booking-holdings-q2-2026-earnings"},{"number":5,"id":"expedia-q2","publisher":"PhocusWire","title":"Expedia Group Q2 2026 earnings","dated":"5 August 2026","url":"https://www.phocuswire.com/news/finance/expedia-group-q2-2026-earnings"},{"number":6,"id":"scrunch-half-life","publisher":"Scrunch","title":"The half-life of AI citations","dated":"2026","url":"https://scrunch.com/blog/half-life-of-ai-citations"},{"number":7,"id":"scrunch-reddit","publisher":"Scrunch","title":"The Reddit paradox","dated":"5 February 2026","url":"https://scrunch.com/blog/reddit-paradox-industry-breakdown-of-most-cited-ai-sources"},{"number":8,"id":"otterly-reddit","publisher":"Otterly","title":"ChatGPT Reddit citations","dated":"27 August 2026, updated 14 September 2026","url":"https://otterly.ai/blog/chatgpt-reddit-citations/"},{"number":9,"id":"ahrefs-chatgpt","publisher":"Ahrefs","title":"Most cited domains in ChatGPT","dated":"Updated 2 September 2026","url":"https://ahrefs.com/blog/most-cited-domains-in-chatgpt/"},{"number":10,"id":"seer-gemini","publisher":"Seer Interactive","title":"Gemini citations decreased 23pp","dated":"13 April 2026","url":"https://www.seerinteractive.com/insights/gemini-citations-decreased-23pp-why-that-matters"},{"number":11,"id":"sitter-hotels","publisher":"Nicolas Sitter","title":"Google AI Mode hotel study 2026","dated":"February 2026, updated September 2026","url":"https://nicolassitter.com/research/google-ai-mode-hotel-study-2026"},{"number":12,"id":"cloudbeds-ai","publisher":"Cloudbeds","title":"How AI recommends hotels, research data","dated":"Accessed 30 September 2026. Publication date not shown","url":"https://www.cloudbeds.com/hotel-ai-recommendations/data/","note":"Vendor research: 810 prompts across ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini, six destinations, 145 properties."},{"number":13,"id":"google-ucp-lodging","publisher":"Google Developers","title":"UCP for Lodging","dated":"Accessed 9 September 2026","url":"https://developers.google.com/hotels/ucp"},{"number":14,"id":"aurascope-nz-tech-expo-survey","publisher":"AuraScope","title":"NZ Tech Expo attendee survey, Auckland","dated":"18 to 24 September 2026","note":"AuraScope's own survey. NZ Tech Expo attendees (n=89). Not a general traveller sample."},{"number":15,"id":"aurascope-nz-audit","publisher":"AuraScope","title":"On-page audit of 147 New Zealand hotel websites","dated":"10 May 2026","note":"AuraScope's own measurement. Raw scores held by AuraScope; method summarised in the report."},{"number":16,"id":"aurascope-agent-readiness","publisher":"AuraScope Research","title":"A hotel's take on agent readiness","dated":"September 2026","url":"https://research.aurascope.co/research/hotels-take-on-agent-readiness","note":"Companion paper on whether agents can reach and read a hotel's own website."},{"number":17,"id":"search-agency-guides","publisher":"Search Agency","title":"AI Mode travel guides still perform","dated":"9 July 2026","url":"https://search.agency/blog/ai-mode-travel-guides-still-perform"},{"number":18,"id":"seranking-gemini3","publisher":"SE Ranking","title":"Gemini 3 impact on AI Overviews","dated":"26 February 2026","url":"https://seranking.com/blog/gemini-3-impact-on-ai-overviews/"},{"number":19,"id":"adobe-travel","publisher":"Adobe Digital Insights","title":"AI traffic to travel sites","dated":"17 June 2026","url":"https://business.adobe.com/blog/adobe-report-ai-traffic-travel-sites-surges-200-percent"},{"number":20,"id":"axios-chartbeat","publisher":"Axios","title":"Chartbeat search traffic data","dated":"17 March 2026","url":"https://www.axios.com/2026/03/17/chartbeat-search-traffic-ai-chatbots"},{"number":21,"id":"growth-memo","publisher":"Growth Memo","title":"AI halftime report H1 2026","dated":"27 July 2026","url":"https://www.growth-memo.com/p/ai-halftime-report-h1-2026"},{"number":22,"id":"google-clicks","publisher":"Google","title":"AI search driving more queries and higher quality clicks","dated":"6 August 2025","url":"https://blog.google/products/search/ai-search-driving-more-queries-higher-quality-clicks/"},{"number":23,"id":"travelweekly-pros","publisher":"Travel Weekly","title":"OTAs have edge over airlines in ChatGPT (PROS data)","dated":"4 November 2025","url":"https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Travel-Technology/OTAs-have-edge-over-airlines-ChatGPT"},{"number":24,"id":"mckinsey-skift","publisher":"McKinsey and Skift Research","title":"Remapping travel with agentic AI","dated":"16 September 2025","url":"https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/travel/our-insights/remapping-travel-with-agentic-ai"},{"number":25,"id":"skift-otas","publisher":"Skift","title":"OTAs, AI discovery and transactions","dated":"20 March 2026","url":"https://skift.com/2026/03/20/otas-ai-discovery-transactions/"},{"number":26,"id":"skift-checkout","publisher":"Skift","title":"OpenAI ChatGPT checkout walkback","dated":"5 March 2026","url":"https://skift.com/2026/03/05/openai-chatgpt-checkout-walkback/"},{"number":27,"id":"openai-atlas","publisher":"OpenAI","title":"Evolving Atlas into ChatGPT for browser-based agentic work","dated":"July 2026","url":"https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001371-evolving-atlas-into-chatgpt-for-browser-based-agentic-work"},{"number":28,"id":"openai-ads","publisher":"OpenAI","title":"Expanding access to AI with ChatGPT ads","dated":"31 August 2026","url":"https://openai.com/index/expanding-access-to-ai-with-chatgpt-ads/"},{"number":29,"id":"techcrunch-ai-mode","publisher":"TechCrunch","title":"Google's AI Mode can now track flight prices, help book hotels and more","dated":"27 August 2026","url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/27/googles-ai-mode-can-now-track-flight-prices-help-book-hotels-and-more/"},{"number":30,"id":"skift-google-hotels","publisher":"Skift","title":"Google confirms hotel agentic booking is now in testing","dated":"7 August 2026","url":"https://skift.com/2026/08/07/google-confirms-hotel-agentic-booking-is-now-in-testing/"},{"number":31,"id":"google-marketing-live","publisher":"Google","title":"Shopping updates at Google Marketing Live","dated":"20 May 2026","url":"https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/shopping/shopping-updates-google-marketing-live/"},{"number":32,"id":"gemini-help","publisher":"Google","title":"Gemini Apps help: flights and hotels","dated":"Accessed September 2026","url":"https://support.google.com/gemini/answer/16622256"},{"number":33,"id":"google-nz-ai-mode","publisher":"Google New Zealand","title":"Introducing AI Mode in Aotearoa New Zealand","dated":"22 August 2025","url":"https://blog.google/intl/en-nz/products/google-search-introducing-ai-mode-in-aotearoa-new-zealand/"},{"number":34,"id":"skift-mindtrip","publisher":"Skift","title":"Sabre, Mindtrip and PayPal launch agentic AI travel booking","dated":"6 May 2026","url":"https://skift.com/2026/05/06/sabre-mindtrip-paypal-launch-agentic-ai-travel-booking/"},{"number":35,"id":"tdn-muse","publisher":"Travel Daily News","title":"Meta's Muse adds Duffel for AI-powered travel bookings","dated":"10 September 2026","url":"https://www.traveldailynews.com/technology/metas-muse-adds-duffel-for-ai-powered-travel-bookings/"},{"number":36,"id":"techcrunch-instinct","publisher":"TechCrunch","title":"Instinct founder said more than 50% of transactions on the platform are travel-related","dated":"29 September 2026","url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/29/instinct-founder-said-more-than-50-of-transactions-on-the-platform-are-travel-related/"},{"number":37,"id":"skift-muse","publisher":"Skift","title":"Meta says its Muse agent books travel. Here's what that actually means","dated":"9 September 2026","url":"https://skift.com/2026/09/09/meta-says-its-muse-agent-books-travel-heres-what-that-actually-means/"},{"number":38,"id":"duffel-muse","publisher":"Duffel","title":"Millions of users can now use Duffel to search, book and manage holidays on Muse","dated":"September 2026","url":"https://duffel.com/blog/millions-of-users-can-now-use-duffel-to-search-book-and-manage-holidays-on-muse-the-new-personal-ai-agent-from-meta"},{"number":39,"id":"sfstandard-dots","publisher":"The San Francisco Standard","title":"OpenAI launches cute, 'capable' AI agents","dated":"29 September 2026","url":"https://sfstandard.com/2026/09/29/openai-launches-dots/"},{"number":40,"id":"cbs-dots","publisher":"CBS News","title":"Sam Altman unveils dots, OpenAI's new AI personal agent","dated":"29 September 2026","url":"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sam-altman-openai-dots-chatgpt-agents-safety/"},{"number":41,"id":"datacamp-grok-bot","publisher":"DataCamp","title":"Grok Bot explained: SpaceXAI's always-on AI agents","dated":"Accessed 1 October 2026","url":"https://www.datacamp.com/blog/grok-bot","note":"Secondary explainer. xAI's own announcement page could not be retrieved."},{"number":42,"id":"skift-airbnb","publisher":"Skift","title":"Brian Chesky commits to launching an AI agent in 2027","dated":"23 September 2026","url":"https://skift.com/2026/09/23/brian-chesky-commits-to-launching-an-ai-agent-in-2027/"},{"number":43,"id":"techcrunch-cloudflare","publisher":"TechCrunch","title":"Cloudflare's new policy pushes AI companies to pay for publishers' content","dated":"1 July 2026","url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/01/cloudflares-new-policy-pushes-ai-companies-to-pay-for-publishers-content/"},{"number":44,"id":"expedia-chatgpt","publisher":"Expedia","title":"Expedia in ChatGPT","dated":"Updated 20 February 2026","url":"https://www.expedia.com/product/expedia-in-chatgpt/"},{"number":45,"id":"virgin-chatgpt","publisher":"Virgin Australia","title":"Virgin Australia flight search lands in ChatGPT","dated":"2026","url":"https://www.virginaustralia.com/us/en/newsroom/2026/5/virgin-australia-flight-search-lands-in-chatgpt/"},{"number":46,"id":"twa-webjet","publisher":"Travel Weekly Australia","title":"Webjet launches ChatGPT app for flight and hotel searches","dated":"11 May 2026","url":"https://travelweekly.com.au/webjet-launches-chatgpt-app-for-flight-and-hotel-searches/"},{"number":47,"id":"tnz-workshops","publisher":"Tourism New Zealand","title":"TNZ hosts AI discoverability workshops for industry","dated":"27 July 2026","url":"https://www.tourismnewzealand.com/news-and-activity/tnz-hosts-ai-discoverability-workshops-for-industry/"},{"number":48,"id":"mbie-ai","publisher":"MBIE","title":"Using AI to improve New Zealand tourism visibility","dated":"30 July 2026","url":"https://www.mbie.govt.nz/about/news/using-ai-to-improve-new-zealand-tourism-visibility"},{"number":49,"id":"statsnz-july","publisher":"Stats NZ","title":"International travel: July 2026","dated":"14 September 2026","url":"https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/international-travel-july-2026/"},{"number":50,"id":"statsnz-june-year","publisher":"Stats NZ","title":"Annual visitor arrivals up 9 percent, year ended June 2026","dated":"14 August 2026","url":"https://www.miragenews.com/annual-visitor-arrivals-up-9-percent-1727095/","note":"Read through a release mirror."},{"number":51,"id":"phocuswright-anz","publisher":"Phocuswright","title":"Why the ANZ travel market is contracting in 2026 and what recovers by 2029","dated":"August 2026","url":"https://www.phocuswright.com/Travel-Research/Research-Updates/2026/why-the-anz-travel-market-is-contracting-in-2026-and-what-recovers-by-2029"},{"number":52,"id":"iata","publisher":"IATA","title":"Middle East disruptions and high fuel prices halve airline industry profitability","dated":"7 June 2026","url":"https://www.iata.org/en/pressroom/2026-releases/06-07-middle-east-disruptions-high-fuel-prices-halve-airline-industry-profitability/"}]}