Innovation and use of AI to enhance World Cup trip planning in the USA
As the FIFA World Cup unfolds across host cities in the United States, artificial intelligence is no longer a future-facing innovation—it is now an active, real-time travel companion shaping how millions of international fans experience their journey.
From airport arrivals and multilingual navigation to last-minute itinerary changes between matches, AI-powered tools are playing a central role in how visitors move through the country, discover attractions, and make the most of their time beyond the stadiums.
For Brand USA, this moment represents the live execution of a long-planned strategy to integrate innovation into tourism at scale. What was once positioned as a forward-looking digital transformation is now being tested in real conditions, as international fans actively travel between host cities.
“The 2026 FIFA World Cup is a once-in-a-generation opportunity and the data is already telling us that international fans aren’t just planning a trip for the game, they’re planning a trip to the USA,” said Fred Dixon.
That insight is now visible in real time: visitors are not only attending matches, but also extending stays, booking multi-city trips, and using AI tools to explore destinations far beyond stadium districts.
AI moves from planning tool to real-time travel assistant
In the months leading up to the tournament, AI platforms were positioned primarily as trip-planning tools. Now, during the World Cup, their role has expanded significantly. They function as live assistants helping travelers navigate complex, fast-moving itineraries across multiple cities and states.
The national anchor for this ecosystem is Brand USA’s America the Beautiful Game hub, an AI-enabled planning platform designed to connect international visitors with all 11 host cities, base camp locations, and cross-country travel experiences.
While its original purpose was itinerary planning, it now serves an additional function: real-time discovery. Fans use it to adjust plans between matches, find attractions near current locations, and identify travel options when schedules change unexpectedly.
The platform reflects a broader shift in tourism behavior during major events: planning no longer ends at departure—it continues dynamically throughout the trip.
City-level AI tools now powering host city navigation
Across the United States, destination organizations have deployed their own AI systems to support World Cup visitors in real time, creating a distributed network of digital concierges tailored to each city.
In the New York and New Jersey region, the official World Cup concierge system provides live transit updates, stadium guidance, and match-day logistics. At the same time, New York City Tourism + Conventions operates Libby, a multilingual AI assistant available across web and messaging platforms, helping visitors navigate neighborhoods, attractions, and experiences across New York City.
On the West Coast, Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board has introduced Angel, an AI concierge designed specifically for World Cup visitors in Los Angeles. With multiple matches hosted at SoFi Stadium, the tool is being used to help fans plan time between games, discover neighborhoods, and manage transportation across one of the tournament’s largest urban areas.
Further north, Visit Seattle offers Emerald, a multilingual assistant supporting visitors attending matches at Lumen Field. The tool provides personalized recommendations for dining, attractions, and local experiences in more than 45 languages.
In Florida, the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau has integrated an AI assistant directly into its digital platforms, automatically shifting into tournament mode during the World Cup. This allows visitors attending matches at Hard Rock Stadium to access real-time guidance on logistics, transport, beaches, nightlife, and cultural attractions.
AI adoption spreads across all host markets
Beyond the largest cities, AI-powered visitor tools have become a standard feature across nearly all host destinations, reflecting how deeply the technology has been embedded into the travel experience.
Discover Atlanta provides an AI travel assistant offering recommendations for restaurants, fan zones, and local events in Atlanta. Meet Boston supports visitors traveling to matches at Gillette Stadium with real-time planning tools.
San Francisco Travel has embedded conversational AI into its website to guide visitors through experiences ranging from the Golden Gate Bridge to curated culinary experiences across the city.
In the Midwest, Visit Kansas City uses AI tools to support visitors exploring one of the tournament’s key cultural hubs. Meanwhile, Discover PHL has launched Ask Ben, an AI assistant helping fans navigate Philadelphia during matches at Lincoln Financial Field.
In Texas, Visit Dallas and Visit Houston are both using AI concierges to help visitors manage large-scale urban itineraries in two of the tournament’s busiest host regions.
From static itineraries to adaptive travel experiences
What distinguishes this World Cup from previous global sporting events is not only scale, but responsiveness. Traditional travel planning tools offered fixed itineraries. The current generation of AI systems adapts continuously based on real-time conditions, including match schedules, crowd levels, transportation disruptions, weather, and last-minute traveler preferences.
This shift is particularly important during an event where fans may attend matches in multiple cities within a short timeframe. AI tools are increasingly being used to bridge gaps between locations, recommend spontaneous experiences, and reduce friction in unfamiliar environments.
The result is a more fluid travel experience where planning, navigation, and discovery happen simultaneously.
Brand USA’s role: connecting the national experience
At the national level, Brand USA’s America the Beautiful Game hub serves as the connective layer across all host cities. While local AI assistants focus on individual destinations, the national platform helps visitors think beyond a single match or city.
It encourages multi-city exploration, road trips between venues, and extended stays that include national parks, cultural landmarks, and regional experiences across the United States.
This aligns with broader traveler behavior observed during the tournament: many international fans are using the World Cup as a gateway to explore the country more deeply rather than treating it as a single-stop event.
A live experiment in AI-powered tourism
As the tournament continues, the United States is effectively operating one of the largest real-time tourism technology ecosystems ever deployed. AI is no longer confined to trip inspiration or pre-departure planning—it is actively shaping decisions while travelers are already on the ground.
From multilingual chat assistants and digital concierges to national trip-planning hubs, the system represents a new model for destination management at scale: distributed, adaptive, and continuously responsive to traveler needs.
If successful, this approach may extend far beyond the World Cup itself, setting a precedent for how major destinations manage international tourism during large-scale global events in the future.
Sorin Dutoiu, Managing Partner of YOLO Media company
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