The tool, named after the company’s founder, aims to filter out the noise of crowd-sourced reviews and sponsored content. According to Jeremy Tarr, Digital Editorial Director at Fodor’s, the goal is to amplify human judgment rather than replace it. The assistant helps users draft itineraries, locate accommodations, and identify restaurants by leveraging the brand's established archives, including its known "Go and No" lists that prioritize sustainable and ethical tourism.

While the basic version of Eugene is free to use with daily chat limits, Fodor’s has introduced a tiered membership model to support the platform. For $4.99 per month or $48 annually, subscribers gain unlimited access to the AI, along with exclusive editorial content and a complimentary digital guidebook. By insulating the assistant from outside advertisers and internet-wide scraping, the publisher intends to maintain the same editorial independence that has defined its print guides since 1936.