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Parents are AI-searching your camp
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A camp client wanted to know how parents are using AI to research their camp. So we sat down and “pretended” to be a parent (even though I am a parent!) looking for a camp like his. Simple prompt: “Tell me if [Camp X] is the right fit for my 12-year-old daughter.” What came back was eye-opening and definitely something all camps need to understand, and understand quickly. The AI framed its response as “my honest take, parent to parent.” As a reminder, AI is not a parent. The Audit
I ran it again. Fresh chat, same prompt. This time it came back as “my honest through a parent/educator lens.” It’s neither. Ran it a third time. The response made assumptions about my daughter wanting shorter sessions and more modern amenities. Take into mind that I never said either of those things. At no point did I give any indication what my daughter wanted out of a summer experience. It made the leap on its own, then served the leap back to me as advice. What was most interesting (maybe unsettling) was the way it talked about the question. The “chat” was affirming, personable, and honestly the kind of warmth you’d expect from a neighbor or friend who’s actually been to this camp. Parents read these responses and accept them as fact because the tone signals lived experience. The truth is, it’s processing text and giving you a definitive take in the voice of someone who cares. The phrase “my honest take” is funny on its face. As if it was being dishonest before. This Is Already HappeningI’m hearing this from camp directors all over. A parent calls, registers, and when asked how they heard about camp, says they asked AI for the best one and got the camp’s name back. That’s the new front door. And the camps don’t get to see it open. A Quick AsideFor the heck of it, I pushed it on what makes a bad camp. It gave me a formula: great marketing, plus weak staff, plus poor communication, plus no clear values. There’s a whole post in that one. More on it later. The Black BoxSEO had rules you could learn. Backlinks, keywords, structure. You could play the game. This is different. You can’t easily change what AI says about your camp. You can’t game it. The only meaningful response is to flood the inputs. Put out real content. Stories. The specific moments that show what your camp actually is. Not “register now.” Not “spots filling fast.” Real storytelling. Camps that have been doing this work for years will get rewarded. The ones that haven’t are going to get caricatured by pattern-matching, and they’re not going to understand why. Do this on your own camp this week. And have your team do it too, separately. One person’s prompt won’t catch the full picture. The prompt: “Tell me if [Camp X] is the right fit for my [age] [child].” See what it says about you. Sincerely, Senior Consultant at Immersive1st Learn more about Immersive1st's Approach |
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Subscribe to the Immersive1st newsletter for new openings and smart job search tips. Hiring? The next issue will show how your organization can reach the right candidates.
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