Are People Actually Using AI to Find and Get Restaurant Recommendations?
You bet, and the numbers are climbing faster than most folks in hospitality probably realise. It’s not just tech nerds, either.
A survey by BrightLocal in 2025 spilled the beans: a quarter of consumers had used an AI assistant to scout out local businesses in the previous month. Among the under-35s? That figure shot up to nearly 40%. ChatGPT alone boasts over 200 million active users every week, and "Where should I eat?" is consistently one of the top local questions people ask it.
Think about how we actually ask these things. Nobody's typing "restaurants near me" into ChatGPT. No, we're asking it like we'd ask a mate down the pub: "What's a good spot for dinner in the Northern Quarter? Somewhere with cocktails and a relaxed vibe, not too pricey." And what does the AI do? It spits back a tailored list – usually three to five places – with a quick blurb about each.
For restaurant and bar owners, this isn't just another search engine. It's a completely different way people find you. On Google, you're one of ten results on a page, maybe more. With AI, you're one of three or four suggestions in a chat. That's much more focused visibility, it feels more personal, and it definitely carries more weight. Why? Because people tend to trust AI recommendations a lot like they'd trust a tip-off from a well-informed friend.
So, the point isn't whether this matters. It's about figuring out how on earth the AI decides who to recommend.
Where Do AI Assistants Get Their Restaurant Data From?
This is the bit that usually makes people's eyebrows shoot up. AI assistants aren't running secret operations with hidden restaurant databases. They're not sending out mystery shoppers or conducting their own surveys. Nope, they're working with the very same data that's already floating around online – they just process it in a cleverer way.
Lily Ray, a Senior Director of SEO at Amsive Digital and a real heavyweight in the search world, shared some research in 2025. She found that a whopping 82% of ChatGPT's local business recommendations matched up with Google's regular search results. In plain English: if your place shows up well on Google, there's a really good chance ChatGPT will recommend it too.
This all makes perfect sense once you grasp how these systems tick. ChatGPT learned its stuff from a huge chunk of web data, including review sites, local directories, food blogs, news articles, and all that structured information behind Google's listings. Perplexity, on the other hand, actively hunts the web in real-time and pulls together what it finds. And Google Gemini? Well, it has direct access to Google's own treasure trove of data, like Google Business Profiles, Maps, and reviews.
The big takeaway here: structured, publicly available information about your business is the fuel for AI recommendations. And the single biggest source of that structured data for local businesses? You guessed it: Google Business Profile.
All that info on your Google Business Profile – your categories, your special features, your description, reviews, photos, posts – isn't just for Google Search anymore. It's the raw material that various AI systems use to decide whether to put you forward.
What Specific Data Points Do AI Assistants Look At?
When an AI assistant suggests a restaurant or bar, it's juggling several factors. We don't see all the gears turning, but research and testing have shone a light on the most important signals.
Review volume and sentiment. AI assistants pay serious attention to what people actually say in your reviews. It's not just about the star rating; it's the actual words. If dozens of reviews rave about "amazing cocktails" and someone asks for a cocktail bar, you're definitely in the running. Flip that around, though: if reviews often grumble about slow service, an AI asked for "reliable restaurants" might just give you a miss.
Business description and categories. Your Google Business Profile description and categories are like a perfectly organised filing cabinet for AI. A description saying "independent cocktail bar specialising in mezcal and natural wines" gives the AI exact hooks to match. A vague "Great food and drinks in a friendly atmosphere" doesn't give it much to chew on at all.
Attributes and features. If someone asks for "a restaurant with outdoor seating that's good for groups," the AI checks for those specific attributes. If you've got "Outdoor seating: Yes" and "Good for groups: Yes" ticked on your Google profile, brilliant, you're a contender. If those aren't set, you're out of the race – even if you have the most glorious terrace and a private dining room for twenty. The AI just doesn't know.
Content freshness. AI systems prefer up-to-date information. A business with recent reviews, fresh Google Business Profile Posts, and a current profile just looks active and trustworthy. One with no reviews in six months and a dusty old profile? It might look like it's closed or winding down.
Mentions across the web. Beyond your Google profile, AI assistants hoover up mentions from food blogs, local guides, news articles, TripAdvisor listings, and social media. The more places your venue gets a consistent, positive shout-out, the more confident the AI feels recommending you. This is where having a broad online presence really makes a difference – it's not just about one platform.
Why Does Google Business Profile Completion Feed AI Visibility?
Because your Google Business Profile is, hands down, the most comprehensive source of structured information about local businesses. And AI systems, bless 'em, are absolutely ravenous for structured data.
Imagine this: an AI assistant trying to answer "Where's a dog-friendly brunch spot in Manchester?" It needs to find places that are (a) in Manchester, (b) serve brunch, and (c) allow dogs. The quickest, most efficient way to answer that is to check structured data where these things are clearly, explicitly stated. That's precisely what your Google Business Profile provides.
If your profile says your category is "Brunch Restaurant," your attributes include "Dogs allowed: Yes," and your location is Manchester – boom, perfect match. But if you serve a cracking brunch and welcome pups with open arms, but you haven't bothered to set those fields on your profile? The AI has no way of knowing. It might guess from a review mentioning someone's Labrador, but guessing is far less reliable than a clear declaration.
This is why a complete Google Business Profile isn't just a smart Google Search move anymore. It's a fundamental AI visibility strategy. Every field you fill in, every attribute you tick, every category you add is another data point that AI assistants can grab onto to recommend your venue for exactly the right queries.
The places that will really shine in AI discovery in 2026 and beyond won't necessarily be the swankiest or the ones with the most reviews overall. They'll be the ones with the most thorough, accurate, and current structured data. And that, my friends, is an advantage any independent restaurant or bar owner can build – if they know where to put their energy.
What Can Restaurant and Bar Owners Actually Control?
Loads, actually. You can't dictate what AI systems decide to recommend, no. But you can absolutely shape the data they have to work with.
Fill out your Google Business Profile completely. Every single field. Every category. Every attribute. This is your bedrock. It's the highest-impact thing you can do for AI visibility because it feeds into so many systems at once. Don't leave anything blank!
Encourage detailed reviews. Star ratings are nice, but they don't give AI much substance. A review that says "Best tapas in Manchester – the patatas bravas are incredible and the cocktail list is seriously impressive" gives AI specific keywords and sentiments to latch onto. A bland "5 stars, loved it" gives it next to nothing. You can't force people to write essays, but you can gently nudge them towards specifics by asking things like "What was your favourite dish?" when you invite feedback.
Keep your information current. Updated hours, seasonal menu tweaks, new specials, recent Google Business Profile Posts – all of this screams "we're active!" and tells the AI your data is reliable. AI systems tend to ignore stale information because it's probably out of date.
Build your presence beyond Google. Think TripAdvisor, local food blogs, event listings, your own snazzy website. Each platform is another source the AI can cross-reference. Consistency is key here – make sure your name, address, phone number, and description are spot-on and match across all of them.
Write a proper business description. Use your 750 characters wisely. Really think about what makes you unique – your cuisine, your atmosphere, your signature offerings. Write it for a human who's never heard of you, but with the understanding that an AI will be meticulously picking apart every single word.
How Does booteek Help With AI Visibility Specifically?
booteek's whole setup was designed with this shift in mind. While most traditional reputation tools are still fixated on star ratings and quick replies, booteek's mission is to get your venue found by AI assistants – and that increasingly means getting your structured data as complete, accurate, and appealing as possible.
Our Google Business Profile Completeness Scoring shows you exactly where you're at. The AI Companion then gently guides you through filling every important field over six to seven weeks. And our B.E.S.T. Score Dashboard gives you a full health check, looking not just at reviews, but at all those signals AI needs to spot you.
This isn't about chasing some fleeting trend. AI-powered discovery is fast becoming the default way people find local businesses. For restaurant and bar owners, the question isn't if you should get ready for it – it's how quickly you can get your data sorted before your competitors beat you to it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI assistants eventually replace Google for restaurant discovery? "Replace" feels a bit strong, but they'll definitely complement it more and more. Most people will still use Google Search and Maps for quick "what's nearby" queries. But for more chatty, detailed questions – "plan a date night in Manchester" or "find me somewhere with great vegan options and live music" – AI assistants are becoming the go-to, especially for younger crowds. Smart owners are optimising for both, naturally.
Does paying for Google Ads help me get recommended by AI assistants? No, not really. AI assistants like ChatGPT and Perplexity don't consider paid advertising when they're making recommendations. Their results come from organic data – reviews, business info, web mentions. Google Gemini might eventually weave in paid signals, but for now, AI recommendations are earned through good data, not ad spend.
Can I see if my restaurant has been recommended by ChatGPT or Perplexity? Not directly – there isn't a snazzy analytics dashboard for AI assistant mentions just yet. You could try asking these tools yourself for recommendations in your area and see if you pop up. You can also keep an eye out for indirect signs: if you notice a jump in website traffic or bookings that doesn't line up with an increase from Google Search, AI referrals might be playing a part.
How long does it take for Google Business Profile changes to show up in AI recommendations? It varies depending on the platform. Google Gemini can reflect Google Business Profile changes pretty quickly, sometimes within days, as it has direct access to Google's data. ChatGPT and Perplexity are a bit slower – they might take weeks or even months to pick up new information, depending on when they next crawl the sources that mention your business. The sooner you update your profile, though, the sooner that data starts making its way through the system.
Want your restaurant or bar to be the one AI assistants recommend? booteek helps independent owners build the complete, accurate online presence that AI systems need to find you. Get booteek Pro at the founder member price of £99 a quarter at booteek.ai.