James D. Feldman, CSP, CITE, CPIM, CPT, PCS, is an innovation catalyst and AI Concierge™ helping organizations transform experiences into results. As a speaker, author and consultant, he delivers entertaining and educational presentations that help leaders embrace change, leverage technology strategically and turn practical AI tools into measurable business outcomes. You can contact him at jfeldman@shifthappens.com.

It’s a rare pleasure these days to see your work in print — on real paper, in a real magazine that people actually hold. That’s one of the reasons I love writing for Corporate & Incentive Travel.

In an industry built on experiences, not downloads, this publication reminds us that some things still deserve to be tangible. You can flip through the pages, circle ideas or dog-ear a story for later. It’s deliberate, lasting — much like the incentive trips we design.

Every month, my column will explore how artificial intelligence can make your work easier, smarter and more profitable — without losing the human touch that makes travel memorable. AI isn’t here to replace creativity; it’s here to amplify it. Think of it as the world’s most flexible toolkit — when you know which tool to use, and when, you regain time for the strategy, storytelling and relationships that really drive results.

In this issue, I’m breaking down the AI platforms I rely on every day — ChatGPT for brainstorming, Perplexity for credible research, Grok for real-time insight and Gemini for turning ideas into action. Each one has its own lane, and together, they create a system that helps travel professionals work faster and think bigger.

ChatGPT: When You Need to Think Out Loud

This is where I start most mornings. ChatGPT is like that colleague who’s always ready to brainstorm — no coffee required, no bad days, just prepared to riff on ideas. I use it when I’m staring at a blank page. Writing proposals? Check. Need five creative themes for an incentive trip to Bali focused on renewal and connection? Ask, and you’ll have them in seconds, complete with taglines and décor concepts.

Last week, I needed a blog post done by the end of the day. ChatGPT helped me transform bullet points into a polished draft in 20 minutes. It didn’t write the whole thing — it gave me the structure so I could focus on adding the insights only I could provide.

ChatGPT doesn’t replace your creativity. It accelerates it. It takes the friction out of starting so you can spend your energy on the nuance that makes your work actually yours.

Perplexity: Your Research Assistant Who Actually Cites Sources

Remember spending hours going down Google rabbit holes, opening 17 tabs, trying to figure out which sources were credible? Perplexity fixes that.

When I need facts I can trust, this is my go-to. It searches, synthesizes and — here’s the beautiful part — shows you exactly where the information came from.

Pitching a leadership retreat in Portugal and need to know what’s trending in luxury incentive travel? Ask Perplexity, and within minutes, you’ll have current insights with citations you can use. The research that used to take me half a day now takes 15 minutes.

For incentive professionals who live and die by details — airlift capacity, local regulations, seasonal considerations — having a research tool you can trust is game-changing.

Grok: Reading the Room (Even When the Room is the Internet)

Grok is the newest tool in my kit, and it does something the others don’t — it tells you what people are saying right now.

Planning an incentive in Iceland? Grok can tell you within minutes that planners are raving about the hot springs, but worried about costs and unpredictable weather. That real-time sentiment changes how you position your message.

I think of Grok as social radar. Before you launch anything, you want to know what’s already in the conversation. What are people excited about? What are their concerns? This isn’t just data — it’s insight into human behavior, which is what our industry is really built on.

Gemini: When You Need to Get Things Done

While ChatGPT helps you think, and Perplexity helps you research, Gemini is about execution. If you live in Google Workspace — Docs, Sheets, Gmail, Slides — this tool feels like it was designed specifically for you.

After a discovery session with a client, I can have Gemini summarize my notes, extract action items and create a task list for my team. It takes information and automatically generates the next steps.

Last month, I had a spreadsheet with formula errors I couldn’t track down. Gemini found and fixed them in seconds. The workflow automation alone has saved me hours every week.

Start Where You Are

Here’s my honest recommendation: pick one tool and spend a week with it. Just one.

Try ChatGPT to refine your proposal. Use Perplexity for your destination research. Let Grok listen to what planners are saying. Have Gemini clean up your project tracking. You don’t need to master all four tomorrow. Start with your most significant pain point and let the tool solve that problem first.

The truth is, none of these tools will ever replace what makes you valuable — your experience, your relationships, your ability to read a room and adjust on the fly. What they will do is give you back time. Time to think more strategically. Time to be more creative. Time to focus on the human moments that no algorithm can replicate.

AI doesn’t change what makes great incentive travel — it helps you scale it. Technology can handle the repetition, but only you can deliver the connection. That balance is where the magic happens.

And the fact that you’re reading this in print? That’s proof that not everything valuable has to be digital. Some things — like a well-planned journey or a magazine that’s still worth holding onto — still deserve the weight of paper. C&IT