10 | Winning In The Tech Era This section takes a look into the near future of the some of the most exciting and controversial emerging travel techs, namely Artificial Intelligence (AI) and chatbots/OpenIA’s ChatGPT, Virtual Reality (VR), and Augmented Reality (AR). This is what travel advisors need to know, in preparation for how these advanced innovations are already beginning to alter the travel sourcing phases and the actual travel experiences. WHAT ABOUT AI/CHATBOTS, VR, AND AR? (continued on next page) Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Chatbots/OpenIA’s ChatGPT AI-powered technologies like chatbots (notably OpenIA’s ChatGPT, just introduced in November 2022) and virtual assistants are becoming increasingly popular in the travel industry – and they are absolutely game-changers through automation GPT technology recognizes and responds in natural human language, calling on vast reservoirs of knowledge to give relevant and insightful answers to questions posed Regarding travel, it is being used to create email and website campaigns quickly (without expensive marketing costs), to suggest travel options, to help travelers make decisions, to book flights, to respond to queries, and more The idea is that many routine information-sharing tasks no longer need to be researched and presented by a human, which frees up time for travel advisors to focus on other pressing tasks Shultz describes how tools like ChatGPT have the ability to revolutionize the travel planning experience, from the perspective of deep content-rich material, which was previously very hard to produce and maintain Even though it is still in its infancy, ChatGPT (as one example), is changing how suppliers write content for destinations It is changing how advisors communicate with their customers For the first time, if the advisor is unfamiliar with a topic, destination or product, these AIs can provide a wealth of information, with very little technical knowledge required