AI restaurant marketing is here . Businesses must be visible in all areas of search, and if you’re not found in AI results, then you’re missing out on vital traffic. You might have missed it, but Google and Apple also announced a major agreement between the two powerhouses.
Google’s Gemini will power Apple’s Siri, so if someone says, “Where’s the best pizza place in Manhattan?” you need to come up in Google’s AI results.
If you’re not found in the results, you’ll lose a potential customer.
AI for restaurants is being seen in many areas of operations:
- AI tools for restaurants, such as for data analysis and to identify trends.
- Marketing, including coming up in AI results, but also for creating campaigns, ads, etc.
What’s the best AI for restaurant marketing? It’s multi-faceted, and you need to have a firm understanding of how results are pulled together with artificial intelligence to be shown in the results.
How AI Systems Work
AI in restaurants, for search, uses what is known as retrieval augmented models .
What does this mean?
Instead of just looking at your website and ranking your restaurant based on on-page SEO, it grabs information from multiple sources to draw a conclusion for the query. For example, if someone searches for the “best place to eat gyros in NYC,” ChatGPT may derive its answer by gathering data from:
- Blogs
- Forums
- FAQs
- Local business listings
- News articles
- Review platforms
Reddit has become a very popular source of information because people share real experiences on the platform. Users share honest opinions that are unique and conversational, which is why they are perfect for retrieval models that AI systems use.
Understanding Google’s Stance
Google has talked in great lengths about artificial intelligence. AI in the restaurant industry, specifically in search, isn’t a complete upheaval. Many of the same things that you do for traditional SEO work in AI results, like Gemini, ChatGPT and Perplexity.
Nick Fox, Google SVP of Knowledge of Information, stated in a podcast ( listen to it here ):
“What you would have built and the way to optimize to do well in Google’s AI experiences is very similar, I would say the same, as how to perform well in traditional search. And it really does come down to build a great site, build great content. The way we put it is: build for users. Build what you would want to read, what you would want to access.”
Danny Sullivan, former search liaison for Google, stated :
“Good SEO is good GEO, or AEO, AIO, LLM SEO, or LMNOPO. So, they’re all fine. What I’m trying to say is don’t panic. What you’ve been doing for search engines generally, and you may have thought of as SEO, is still perfectly fine and is still the things that you should be doing.”
If you want to show up in AI results, don’t reinvent the wheel.
Focus on the same, strong SEO fundamentals that you have been, but this must still include a broader approach than in the past.
4 Things You Should Do for Your Restaurant to Show up in AI Results
Artificial intelligence restaurant marketing focuses on multiple platforms:
- ChatGPT
- Claude
- Gemini
- Perplexity
Focusing on one platform that can change its algorithm tomorrow is a risk that we don’t recommend taking. Instead, you should be everywhere at once, which means doing the following:
1. Be Present on All Trusted Sources
AI platforms use the information at their disposal to make a judgment on a query that you run, or a question. For example, if you search for the top steakhouse in Charleston, ChatGPT is likely to gather data from:
- Blogs
- Business listings
- Directories
- Forums
- Press releases
- Social media
Brands must be present everywhere they can to be shown in AI answers or overviews. Natural growth is key, and while you can and will shape your growth on all of these sources, do not engage in spam to promote your brand.
We do want to mention relevancy as a trust factor.
If you have reviews and mentions on TripAdvisor, they will hold far more weight than a random pet blog mentioning your restaurant.
2. Focus Heavily on Reviews
If your patrons love your food, they’ll leave reviews with the right nudge. Restaurants must have a Google Business Profile so that they can start getting reviews. Once you have a profile, do the following:
- Update your receipts to say, “If you had a good experience, please leave us a review.”
- Alert patrons that they can review your restaurant on Google and anywhere else that you’re listed online.
Regular reviews act as a vote for your business, and it’s imperative that you get as many reviews as you can as often as possible.
If you already have a social media presence, you can get your first review by telling the world that people can now leave reviews about their experience.
3. Create a Store Locator
Store locators and local pages provide LLMs with hints to properly recommend your restaurant. Structure your pages to make it clear:
- Where your restaurant is located
- What food and menu items you offer
If you have multiple locations, pages for each must be unique with clear descriptions, menus, keywords, name, address and phone number.
4. Structure Your Data Properly
OpenAI gives good advice on how to show up on its platform, and it’s similar across many chatbots. Your content’s structure must be clear and defined, which means it’s crucial to:
- Add accurate schema markup
- Arrange page content with headers (H1, H2, H3, etc.)
- Seek out brand mentions, which are the new backlinks
You want to do much of the same that you’ve likely been doing when following SEO best practices.
But in the end, your restaurant should offload its marketing to an agency and focus on what they can control: delicious food . If you offer unforgettable experiences and food, it will get people talking and organically grow your business.
If you are doing the marketing and optimization for AI yourself, the tips above will help you get started with as little friction as possible.