AI won’t take your job. Someone using AI will.

I’ve heard some version of this quote at every travel conference I’ve attended in 2024. I generally find myself nodding in agreement waiting for the practical advice on how the audience of advisors, agency owners, and suppliers can start implementing AI today to realize this promise land.

The practical advice rarely comes. As a result, the audience is left with more anxiety than answers.

AI offers us an extraordinary opportunity. For the first time, advisors can escape the manual data entry that has plagued the travel industry for decades. With that new time comes space to be creative, to sell more, and to grow your business.

In October, I was asked to present on AI at the Wander Beyond Retreat on the Utopia of the Seas. My goal was to go beyond the concepts and give practical steps on how advisors and agency owners can start using AI in their business today.

This paper is a distillation of that talk. It aims to be a mix of a step-by-step guide and conceptual overview. Before we begin, it’s worth noting that the world of AI is changing rapidly. It’s possible that by the time you’re reading this some of these steps will look different. Tern is also evolving. We continue to explore ways to bring these concepts directly into the Tern platform.

With that out of the way, let’s dive in.

David Shull

CEO & Co-Founder of Tern