AI Is Everywhere. Here’s How We Actually Use It.
March 19, 2026
For more than 40 years, Madden has partnered with communities through every major shift in how people plan and experience travel, from the first desktop computers to flip phones, smartphones, and the full force of the internet. We’ve stayed ahead by leaning into new technology, learning it inside and out, and figuring out how to make it work for our communities, which is exactly how we’ve approached the rise of AI
First: Let’s Be Clear
AI doesn’t replace human storytelling. From day one, we’ve been clear: AI is a tool in our hands, not the mind behind the work, a principle that also shapes the way we approach responsible AI use across our agency (which you can read more about in our AI policy). Our edge has always been story. It’s how we turn data into emotion and how we help a place feel like something, not sit like a pin on a map. AI simply gives us more ways to do that faster, smarter, and with more intention
AI + Insight = Smarter Decisions for Communities
Publicly funded tourism organizations answer to their communities, which means every dollar matters, and every campaign has to stand up to scrutiny. That’s why we use AI to make our destination intelligence tools work harder.
We pair AI with our data platforms to connect the dots across visitation trends, seasonality, event performance, and media impact, allowing us to spot patterns more quickly in real time. Patterns that tell us where growth is happening, where momentum is slowing, and where opportunity is hiding. With AI helping to summarize these patterns quickly, our in-house data analysts and strategists then translate those patterns into media shifts, budget adjustments, campaign pivots, or new audience focus.
AI also helps with some of the behind-the-scenes work that keeps projects moving. During client calls, it can capture notes and organize key takeaways so our team can stay fully present in the conversation—listening, asking better questions, and thinking strategically. It’s also useful for consolidating large datasets, cleaning up spreadsheets and summarizing complex information quickly. In other words, AI handles some of the lift to give our team more time to focus on what matters most.
AI in Creative Production
Real creativity, the kind that builds pride in communities and makes someone feel something before they’ve even packed a bag, comes from people and their lived experiences, from intuition, and from the human connections no algorithm can replicate.
Where AI becomes powerful is in creative exploration. It helps us push past the safe first idea. It lets us test headlines, story angles, visual directions, and campaign hooks in minutes instead of hours. It widens the playing field and inside that expanded field, stronger ideas start to emerge.
In content production, AI helps us move past the blank page faster. It can surface outlines, organize research, suggest structural approaches and even flag clarity issues in seconds. It’s also a useful layer in proofing, catching inconsistencies, tightening sentences and identifying gaps before a piece moves forward.
But AI is still only a tool in our toolbox. Our writers bring the voice, nuance and emotional intelligence that make content feel human. They refine tone, sharpen perspective and ensure every word reflects the community behind it.
We explored this balance early on in our 12 Laws of AI series, when AI was first starting to shape our industry. And it still holds true: AI expands the range of possibilities, but humans decide which ideas are worth pursuing with their instinct, experience, and craft to turn potential into something meaningful.
When you remove friction from production, you create space for better ideas. Senior Graphic Designer Lindsay Muncy said AI speeds up her creative workflow. “Photo editing that used to take hours, now only takes minutes. Freeing up more time for creative thinking.”
Navigating the Landscape with Partners
This year, we’re coming together with Karsh Hagan to build a bold new agency. This partnership will not only enhance our collective ability to craft brand stories and reach consumers, but meshes our combined AI expertise to up-level our client service. This means we’ll not only have greater ability to solve client problems, but added experience to help navigate clients through the AI landscape, like we’ve done by hosting dedicated AI usage workshops for destinations and their partners.
Always Human-Led
But here’s the constant: Every strategy is human-led. Every recommendation is accountable. Every final product is built with the understanding that real communities are on the other side of the screen.
Even with everything AI can do, it can’t replace human empathy. We don’t automate connection, or outsource responsibility, and we don’t publish work we wouldn’t confidently stand behind in a boardroom or a town hall. Tourism marketing is more than filling rooms, it’s about shaping perception, pride and opportunity.
At the end of the day, we tell stories to build movements. AI helps us do that with greater precision. It creates space for our team to think bigger, ask better questions and push the creative further without losing the humanity at the center of it all.
