I Asked Summit County's Ski Resort Leaders How They Use AI. Here's What I Didn't Hear.

On October 9, I sat in a ballroom at Copper Mountain Resort with about 500 Summit County business leaders for the Ski Area COO Summit, the Summit Chamber's annual breakfast with the county's ski area leaders. The chief operating officers of the county's biggest ski areas took the stage to talk about the season ahead: snowmaking, traffic, events, and how to win guests back after a tough winter.

Before the event, attendees could submit questions. I submitted one:

"How are your resorts using AI, including AI search, to reach guests?"

It got asked. Here's what I heard.

What the Resort Leaders Said

Two resorts answered: Keystone and Copper.

Keystone said they're exploring AI for guest communication, especially for making sense of the feedback they collect in surveys and responding faster. They haven't launched anything yet, but the takeaway was honest and sharp: AI is coming fast, and if you're not paying attention, you get left behind.

Copper described training an AI model to detect when a chairlift passenger isn't properly seated, so the lift can flag it. That's a real, useful safety application.

Nobody else chimed in. And nobody mentioned AI search: whether ChatGPT, Gemini or Google's AI answers actually recommend their resort when a skier asks where to go.

To Be Fair to the COOs

A COO is not the person checking whether ChatGPT recommends their mountain. That work usually lives with a marketing or digital team, and big resorts have big ones. So I don't read the silence as "the resorts are behind." I read it as a sign of where the conversation is right now: AI is being treated as an operations tool, not yet as a front door.

But that front door is already open.

Why This Matters for Every Business in Summit County

Your future customers are already asking AI for recommendations:

• "Best ski rental shop in Frisco"
• "Where should we eat in Breckenridge after skiing?"
• "Dog-friendly lodging near Keystone"
• "Who does snow removal in Silverthorne?"

When someone asks a question like that, the AI doesn't show ten blue links. It gives a short answer and names a few businesses. If you're not one of them, you're not in the running. I explain the difference in more detail in Optimizing for SEO Isn't the Same as Optimizing for AI.

And this winter, getting found matters more than usual.

The Economic Backdrop: Value Is Driving Every Decision

The morning opened with an economic outlook from Inntopia, which tracks lodging data for mountain destinations. A few things stood out:

• Guests are shifting down the price ladder. Luxury lodging's share is shrinking, and moderate properties are picking up those guests. People are looking for value.
• Advance winter bookings are behind last year, partly a "snow hangover" from last season.
• Canadian visitors aren't expected back soon.
• Discounts alone aren't doing it. The advice was to lead with your value proposition.

Put that together: travelers are comparing options more carefully, and more of that comparing is happening inside AI tools. When a guest asks AI "what's a good value place to rent skis in Summit County," the businesses with clear, consistent, well-reviewed information online are the ones that get named.

Three Things You Can Do This Week

You don't need a big marketing department to start. You need to make it easy for AI to understand and trust your business.

1. Ask AI about yourself. Open ChatGPT and ask the question your customer would ask, like "best [your service] in [your town]." Do you show up? Is the information right? Try Google's AI Mode and Perplexity too.
2. Make your basics match everywhere. Your business name, address, hours and services should be identical on your website, Google Business Profile, Yelp and Chamber listing. Mismatched details make AI less confident about recommending you. My local SEO and Google Business Profile work starts here.
3. Answer real questions on your website. Add a simple FAQ that answers what customers actually ask: prices, parking, pets, hours in shoulder season. AI tools pull directly from clear answers like these.

Where I Come In

I help local businesses find out whether AI recommends them, and fix it when it doesn't. If you'd like to see where you stand, I'll run a free AI visibility check on your business: I test what ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI say about you and send you the top fixes. You can see the full approach on my AI search visibility page.

And if you'll be at the Women of the Summit AI Summit on November 14, come find me. We'll check your business live.