Thanks to Orange 142, travelers can now discover Pigeon Forge directly within AI tools and Google’s AI-generated answers, not just traditional search results.
About Pigeon Forge
Pigeon Forge, nestled at the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, ranks among the country’s most popular family vacation destinations. Known for its mix of outdoor adventure,
entertainment, and southern hospitality, Pigeon Forge offers a memorable experience for visitors
of all ages. Attractions include Dollywood, The Island in Pigeon Forge, The Old Mill, WonderWorks,
Mountain Mile, and many others.
Orange 142 Boosts Pigeon Forge AI Search
| 136% Increase in AI Mentions | 30-40 Daily Ask Martha AI Agent conversations |
My Pigeon Forge is the region’s destination
marketing organization (DMO) and a
long-term client of Orange 142.
The Challenge: Understanding & Adapting to AI
Like many destination marketing organizations, the Pigeon Forge marketing team was hearing more and more about AI, generative search, and GEO.
“We heard it at industry conferences and panel discussions, and we read about it in the press. Intuitively, we thought, okay, traveler behavior will be affected. But how should we respond? What’s our game plan?” said Amy Warner, Assistant Director, Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism.
“We heard it at industry conferences and panel discussions, and we read about it in the press. Intuitively, we thought, okay, traveler behavior will be affected. But how should we respond? What’s our game plan?” said Amy Warner, Assistant Director, Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism.
New acronyms and tools seemed to appear every month. AI Overviews. ChatGPT. GEO. AEO. Every platform promised visibility, but few offered a clear, practical roadmap for destinations. For a small team focused on promoting events, supporting local partners, and driving year-round visitation, chasing every emerging trend simply wasn’t realistic.
Fortunately, Pigeon Forge had a trusted advisor in Orange 142, its long-time agency partner. Orange 142 participates in the AI Council formed by its parent company, Direct Digital Holdings, which helps clients understand the impact of generative AI and build practical adoption roadmaps by industry.
“AI has opened exciting new opportunities for destinations like Pigeon Forge,” said Christy Nolan, VP of Delivery Solutions at Orange 142. “We’re used to discovery in terms of SEO and the attention economy. Now we also have the intent economy, where travelers ask detailed questions and expect immediate, personalized answers. To get those answers, the AI agent goes off and searches websites on the user’s behalf, then synthesizes that information into highly readable responses. That has a huge impact on people planning trips and business meetings.”
But these environments also pose risks, beginning with a collapsed user journey. Rather than click through multiple pages, travelers simply ask an AI agent, “Where should we go this summer?” and receive a direct recommendation. If a destination isn’t part of that answer, it may never enter consideration. Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is essential for mitigating that risk.
GEO is the practice of structuring websites and their content so AI tools can clearly understand, trust, and recommend a brand in their responses. Much like SEO, it depends on strong content, clean site structure, and technical best practices. The difference is where visibility happens. SEO helps a brand rank on a results page. GEO helps a brand become part of the answer itself.
For Pigeon Forge, that meant ensuring the destination could show up not just in searches for “Tennessee vacations,” but directly inside AI responses to questions like, “Where should I vacation with my kids this summer?”
The Solution: Building Visibility and Engagement
Building visibility and engagement in an AI-driven world required a multipronged effort, including:
1. Strong SEO Foundation
Pigeon Forge wasn’t starting from scratch. The destination already had a strong SEO foundation, managed and continuously optimized by Orange 142. That work ensured the site was technically sound, well-organized, and regularly updated with fresh, relevant content. Rather than replacing SEO, GEO would build on top of it.
2. Proprietary GEO Framework
Orange 142 approached generative search the same way it approaches any channel: with a clear, repeatable framework rather than one-off tactics. The team has developed a proprietary GEO methodology that combines technical readiness with disciplined content strategy. This approach ensures that AI tools can easily understand, trust, and confidently recommend Pigeon Forge in their responses.
“We were thrilled our Orange 142 team had already thought out and built a roadmap about what GEO is and how to implement it on our site. The attention to GEO on mypigeonforge.com helps our guests make informed decisions when visiting Pigeon Forge, and that’s the ultimate goal,” said Warner.
3. AEO Content Development
Content development played a big role. AI needs to know exactly who the audience is for each service or offering in order to recommend it. On top of that, AI systems can answer questions and lift answers they can lift from when users ask a specific question, such as, “find me a dogfriendly
hotel.” This content approach is known as AEO.
To meet Pigeon Forge’s AEO requirements, the Orange 142 team created audience content, FAQs, and updated blogs so that AI engines can confidently recommend them.
“This is a hugely important aspect to GEO that many people overlook. Yes, GEO has technical requirements, but a huge part of it is also editorial,” explained Nolan. “Content clarity and proof points are key.”
4. AI-Driven Chatbot: Ask Martha
While GEO focused on improving visibility across external AI platforms, Orange 142 and Pigeon Forge also looked inward. If travelers were increasingly asking AI tools questions instead of browsing menus and links, the website itself needed to evolve as well.
The Results: Stronger Visibility. Deeper Engagement
The result was “Ask Martha,” an AI-driven chat agent embedded directly on Pigeon Forge. Ask Martha allows visitors to ask questions in their own words and receive tailored, conversational answers. Instead of clicking through multiple pages, a traveler can simply type, “What should we do with kids this weekend?” or “When is the best time to visit for fall events?” The agent draws from content across the site to generate a clear, personalized response.
The experience removes friction and helps travelers quickly understand what the destination offers, leading to deeper engagement and more confident planning.
Behind the scenes, Ask Martha delivers just as much value to the Pigeon Forge team. Each conversation provides a real-time view of what visitors are asking about, from seasonal activities to trip-planning logistics. “It’s so interesting to see what visitors are asking the agent. It’s as if we have deep insight into our visitors’ thought processes. We get more insight than we could from surveys,” said Warner.
Those insights help inform new content, FAQs, and even promotional priorities. Instead of guessing what travelers want, the team can respond directly to demonstrated demand. In this way, the chatbot doesn’t just answer questions. It helps shape the destination’s strategy.
Within months of implementing its GEO framework, Pigeon Forge began to see measurable gains in how often the destination appeared across AI-driven search and generative platforms.
Most notably, AI mentions of Pigeon Forge increased by 136%, expanding the destination’s presence in tools like ChatGPT and Google’s AI-powered search experiences. Overall visibility scores also improved, indicating that the site was becoming easier for AI systems to understand and reference confidently in their responses.
Moreover, the launch of the Ask Martha chatbot increased onsite engagement. Previously, the site’s search function was rarely used. Today, Ask Martha averages 30 to 40 unique conversations per day, giving visitors a faster, more natural way to plan their trips and explore what the destination offers.
Just as important, those conversations provide a continuous stream of insight. By analyzing what travelers ask in their own words, the Pigeon Forge team can identify emerging interests, refine content, and even inform programming and promotional priorities. Instead of guessing what visitors need, they can respond directly to demonstrated demand.
“I think this experience has taught us the value of long-term partnerships with people you trust. The AI advancements keep coming. What should we pay attention to? Do we need to worry about the agentic web, for instance? I know that if we do, our Orange 142 team will tell us, and why, and will have a strategy for success.”
- Amy Warner, Assistant Director, Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism
About Orange 142
Orange 142 is a nationwide, full-service digital media agency. We help marketers of all sizes grow their reach and revenue through data-driven media strategies. We also partner with agencies and execute campaigns on behalf of their clients.
Our team of experts has a deep understanding of the digital landscape and the latest advertising and marketing technologies. We work closely with our clients to develop and execute custom advertising and marketing campaigns that meet specific goals.
We are committed to providing our clients with the highest service and transparency. Open communication and collaboration are essential to the success of every advertising and marketing initiative.
