You search Google for "what to do in Rimini with kids when it rains" and, before the classic results, an AI-written summary appears, with a few links as sources. Or you open Google's AI Mode and ask a complex question about your trip, getting a conversational answer.

These are Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode. For a hotel, they change how people discover a destination and, in part, how they reach your website. Let's look at what Google tells site owners and what it means in practice.

What Google says (in short)

In its documentation for site owners, Google explains that:

  • there are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode: pages must be indexed and eligible for a snippet in regular Search;
  • SEO best practices still apply: allow crawling, helpful and reliable people-first content, good page experience, internal links, text supported by quality images and video, structured data consistent with visible content;
  • no special schema or dedicated markup is needed for AI;
  • it's important to keep your Google Business Profile information up to date;
  • performance data is included in Search Console reports (the "Web" search type), and traffic can also be analysed in Google Analytics;
  • you can limit how your content is used with existing controls (nosnippet, max-snippet, noindex), but that also reduces visibility.

In other words: no tricks, no shortcuts. If you're doing SEO well, you're already on the right track.

What really changes for a hotel

1. Informational questions get "summarised"

For searches like "how to get to…", "what to see in…", "when is the … festival", Google often answers directly with a summary. Some users will get their answer without clicking. But those who need more detail click the cited sources: being one of those sources matters.

2. Complex questions become conversations

In AI Mode a user can ask: "Family hotel in Rimini near the beach, with parking, for a June weekend, under €150 a night." The answer combines information from websites, Google profiles, reviews and prices. The more precise and consistent your information, the easier it is for your hotel to be considered.

3. "Commercial" pages still matter

People trying to book still go through hotel panels, prices and websites. Your room, offer and amenity pages remain central.

What to do on your hotel website

How to measure

  • In Search Console, traffic from Google's AI features is included in performance reports; during 2026 Google also introduced reports dedicated to generative AI features, though they mainly show impressions rather than full detail.
  • In Google Analytics, monitor organic visits and bookings and, separately, referral traffic from assistants such as ChatGPT or Perplexity.

Deep dive: your hotel's visibility in AI answers: what you can and can't measure.

Frequently asked questions

Do AI Overviews take traffic away from hotel websites?

On some informational searches they can reduce clicks, because users get an answer immediately. The visits that do arrive tend to be more qualified. For booking searches, hotel panels and websites remain essential.

Should I block Google from using my content?

You can limit snippets, but you risk reducing your visibility in regular results too. For a hotel, it usually pays to be present and cited.

Do I need a different website "for AI"?

No. You need a good website for people: clear, fast, complete, with precise information. It's the same thing Google and AI systems value.

With our free marketing audit we analyse your content, structured data, Google profile and information consistency, and tell you what to improve for SEO and GEO.

Sources: Google Search Central – AI features and your website.