Google Expands AI Overviews to Europe: Transforming Travel Search and Tourism Bookings
Madrid, 1 April, 2025 – Google has officially launched its new AI feature, AI Overviews, in nine European countries, which will alter how users enginage with the traditional search engine. This innovation has sparked significant discussion within the digital marketing and tourism sectors, where search engine visibility is crucial for attracting users. Civitatis, the leading platform for carefully selected Spanish-language tours and activities worldwide, has analyzed the impact of AI Overviews on organic traffic and how it could affect company strategies.
Raúl Valencia, VP of CRO & SEO at Civitatis, explains: “Google is redefining how users find information. With AI Overviews, many answers will be provided directly by the search engine’s AI, potentially reducing traffic to websites that previously received visits from Google. For the tourism industry, this presents both a challenge and an opportunity to adapt and strengthen strategies.”
How will AI Overviews affect digital tourism?
Each month, millions of travelers use Google to plan their trips, from choosing destinations to booking experiences. With the introduction of AI Overviews, users are likely to find more answers directly without needing to click on traditional links.
“If the AI answers questions such as ‘What’s the best tour in Rome?’ or ‘What tour do you recommend for me to do in Rome with two kids next May?’, users can get information without needing to visit a website. This means that tourism companies will need to innovate their content strategies and differentiate themselves even more through quality content,” says Valencia, adding that the main challenges for the tourism sector will be “maintaining authority and credibility, both in search engines and with users.”
How can tourism companies adapt?
To remain competitive in this changing digital landscape, travel brands should take immediate action:
- Prioritize high-quality, in-depth content – Ensure that website content goes beyond basic information, offering unique insights, expert opinions, and up-to-date recommendations that AI cannot easily replicate.
- Optimize for conversational and long-tail search queries – AI Overviews prioritize natural language questions, so businesses should adjust their SEO strategies to focus on answering detailed and specific user queries.
- Strengthen brand authority beyond Google – Diversify traffic sources by investing in social media engagement, email marketing, and partnerships to reduce reliance on search engine-generated traffic.
AI Overviews represent a significant shift in how users interact with information on Google. For tourism companies, this challenge means adapting to new dynamics and evolving digital strategies.
“SEO is still alive, but it’s constantly evolving. At Civitatis, we see this change as an opportunity to continue innovating and providing our travelers with unique experiences and the best possible information,” concludes Civitatis’ VP of CRO & SEO.
About Civitatis
Civitatis is the leading provider of guided tours and carefully selected excursions in Spanish worldwide, offering over 90,000 activities across 4,000 destinations in 160 countries. Since its founding in 2008, more than 40 million people have enriched their trips with Civitatis’ selected tours.