The TwoSix team is back and ready to share what’s On Our Radar for November so that you can stay ahead of the always-evolving digital marketing landscape. This month, the TwoSix team discusses a new “Ask YouTube” feature, AI overviews, new opportunities on Pinterest, and more! Keep reading to find out what we’re keeping On Our Radar for November 2026.

Just as AI Overviews have transformed Google Search, YouTube has placed conversational AI at the center of video discovery.

While conversational search has quietly existed on mobile, the rollout of “Ask YouTube” to the desktop experience puts it front and center. Powered by Google’s Gemini, the tool allows users to ask open-ended, complex questions to receive AI summaries alongside targeted video clips, long-form videos, and Shorts.

Users have already adopted conversational search habits on Google, now, those same behaviors will drive how they search for travel inspiration and practical trip planning on YouTube.

For DMOs this shift is significant. In the past, many destination channels treated YouTube as a place to randomly host their commercials, 30-second pre-roll cuts, and over-produced videos with cheesy music beds. These types of formats will not be served well in this new search environment. 

While brand awareness matters, Ask YouTube goes much deeper!

Conversational AI serves content based on how directly and authoritatively it solves a traveler’s problem. This tool gives DMOs the opportunity to do what they do best: provide local recommendations, build itineraries, and demystify the travel experience.

To win visibility in an AI-curated search environment, destination content needs to operate as a utility play; it needs to answer questions.

To ensure your destination’s videos are included in the outputs, start building content like structured, step-by-step guides with clear timestamps covering indoor attractions, parking tips, and everything a traveler may need to know. Make sure it’s fast, straightforward, and includes transcripts that clearly ask and answer questions.  

By producing content that solves real travel questions, DMOs stop relying solely on paid pre-roll ads and start building organic, evergreen authority. Optimizing for conversational AI means being the voice that informs the AI—and, ultimately, answers the questions that guide travelers directly to our destinations.

Google and Reddit’s latest earnings calls offered two very different pictures of the future of search. Google (or Alphabet Inc.) reported a 12% increase in search revenue and 11% growth in advertising revenue. Sounds pretty good, right? Well, that ad revenue still fell about $1.4 billion short of expectations, and Google acknowledged that AI Mode searches generate less ad revenue than traditional searches.

Reddit, on the other hand, reported more than 1 million fewer weekly search referrals during October. CEO Steve Huffman pointed to Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode as likely contributors. As Google increasingly delivers answers directly in search results, the longstanding relationship between search engines and the websites they rely on is starting to look a little one-sided.

For advertisers, this shift raises some interesting questions about the future of digital marketing. If users are finding answers without ever leaving Google, traditional search ads may have fewer opportunities to reach them. That doesn’t mean search advertising is going anywhere, but it does mean marketers may need to rethink how they measure success. As AI continues to reshape search behavior, visibility, clicks and conversions may start telling very different stories.

A little early Christmas gift has arrived on Pinterest Ads Manager. You are now able to use more specific location targeting while using Pinterest Performance+. This was a big hindrance when Performance+ was first launched, that you could only target by country. Now, you can get more granular with regional and metro targeting. Definitely, something to test out to see how it compares to the traditional set-up.

It’s also been announced that Pinterest is expanding into programmatic advertising with Programmatic Deals.  This could make accessing Pinterest inventory more convenient if you’re already running programmatic campaigns through one of its supported platforms. You’d also have different targeting opportunities based on the audiences that the platforms offer. It may be something to try as this continues to roll out if you already have a larger programmatic advertising strategy and want to start including some Pinterest Inventory. But this isn’t the new standard, advertising directly through Pinterest is still beneficial to target people searching for travel inspiration, driving traffic to landing pages and testing different messaging. Especially, with the new geographic targeting expansion in the platform, advertising on Pinterest is a great way to go. But programmatic deals offer another way for advertisers to explore Pinterest who maybe haven’t before and already working in the programmatic space.

Is Instagram planning its overtake of YouTube audiences?

Instagram is currently testing a new long-form video format called “Features”. This feature (no pun intended) allows select creators to upload videos up to 90 minutes long. The platform is also experimenting with “Clips as Reels” which would allow users to jump directly from your standard short-form reels feed to full-length videos without leaving Instagram.

So, what does this mean for marketers?

Well, as of right now – nothing. Features are still in early testing, but they’re something we should keep our eye on! When new capabilities or formats roll out on a platform, the algorithm typically favors content utilizing them. So, if in a couple of months from now, you see a new option on Instagram to upload long-form content, take the bait!

If Features make it to the platform, this could mean some new opportunities for longer-form storytelling, which could be super beneficial for destinations! This could look like walking tours, day-in-the-life style videos, or behind-the-scenes experiences.

While short-form video isn’t going anywhere, keep your eye out for new ways to incorporate your long-form content into your social media strategies!

When travelers start narrowing down their options, they may search things like “best michigan beach towns for families,” “Gulf Shores vs. Destin,” or “is Mackinac Island worth it?” Google’s AI Overviews are growing fastest on exactly these comparison and high-intent decision searches.

Semrush tracked 400 commercial keywords every month from September 2025 through August 2026. It sorted them into five types: reviews, “best X for Y,” alternatives, brand vs. brand, and pricing/cost. In that year, the share of these searches showing an AI Overview nearly doubled, from about 46% to 88%. Weighted by search volume, coverage of AI Overviews in results reached 97%. The keywords that still had no AI Overview made up less than 3% of total searches.

This pattern held consistent for all industries studied. For travel, those searches could look something like this:

• Best X for Y: “best weekend getaways for couples near Chicago”
• Reviews: “[hotel or attraction] reviews”
• Brand vs. brand: “Gulf Shores vs. Destin for families”
• Alternatives: “less crowded beaches near Myrtle Beach”
• Pricing/cost: “how much does a weekend trip in New York cost”

These are high-intent searches, and more and more often the first thing a traveler reads is an AI summary, not your website.

Check whether your destination is mentioned or cited in AI Overviews for your most important “best of” and comparison-type searches. Know who’s being cited alongside you, and use that information to help distinguish your competitive advantage.

Ranking first may bring in less traffic than it did a year ago, but what you publish still shapes what AI says about your destination. When a traveler asks Google which place to pick, you want to be part of the answer.

Trip planning revolves around food. Before and during a trip, travelers are always looking for where they’re going to eat next. TikTok’s taken note of this and they just made exploring a whole lot easier with its new in-app dining guide, Must Eat.

Must Eat is an in-app restaurant guide that showcases community-recommended locations. It sifts through more than 40 million real-life dining videos, comments, and reviews to spotlight places people genuinely love.

The guide is organized into 2 distinct categories: “Everyday Eats” for cozy neighborhood go-to spots, and “Elevated Dining” for celebratory nights out and special occasions. Users can browse local maps, check out authentic video reviews, and even snag a table right then and there through OpenTable. A seamless process for the hungry traveler.

For DMOs and small businesses, this is a wonderful opportunity to help your city’s food scene shine. TikTok reports that around 27 million Americans have tried a new independent restaurant after discovering it on the app, sparking an estimated $4.7 billion in local spending.

Think of Must Eat as a digital welcome center and help your local dining spots put their best foot forward. They should claim their listings on TikTok, keep the hours and business information up to date, and motivate visitors to tag the location in their videos. The authentic community engagement directly informs which places show up in the Must Eat guide, so the online chatter and organic travel advocacy is one of the most reliable ways to get people through your doors.

Currently, Must Eat is only testing in 3 major cities: New York, Los Angeles, and the Bay Area. It’s unclear if/when the feature will expand to other areas.

And the digital upkeep for restaurants shouldn’t stop at TikTok either. They should:

• Keep the location hours and address updated across websites, Google, Apple Maps, and all social profiles for consistency.
• Claim the location tag on Instagram, as well, so customer videos and photos link directly back to the business page.
• Test reservation or ordering links in social bios and map profiles to make sure users can book tables in one click.
• Include a mobile-friendly menu on the website for ease of use.

If they are already working their way through dining, what’s stopping TikTok from creating community guides for other businesses or visitor guides for cities at large?

With the ever-changing digital marketing world, we are here to keep you informed of new digital trends and what we are keeping on our radar each month. Have any questions? Contact us! We’re here to help. Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter  to receive monthly updates on trends and insights in the digital marketing and tourism industries straight to your inbox! Click the buttons below to connect with us on social media and stay in the loop on all things TwoSix Digital.