AI search, by industry
AI Search Optimization for Restaurants
A restaurant is easier for AI assistants and agents to recommend and use when its menu, prices, hours, address and dietary options are typed out on its own website and match its Google, Yelp and booking listings, and when an assistant acting for a diner can follow a working link to book a table or place an order.
Facts on this page last checked 2026-10-17.
What your customers ask AI
Examples of what a customer might ask ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity when they need a restaurant:
- “Where can I get good tacos near me that's still open after 10pm?”
- “Find a quiet Italian place downtown that can seat six on Saturday at 7.”
- “Which restaurants near me have real gluten-free options on the menu?”
- “Order a large pepperoni pizza for pickup somewhere on my way home.”
- “Is there a kid-friendly brunch spot with outdoor seating around here?”
- “How much does dinner for two cost at that new steakhouse, and do I need a reservation?”
The action that matters
Book a table or place an order
For a restaurant, the moment that counts is when a diner's AI assistant tries to book a table or order food for pickup or delivery, through your own reservation or ordering system or a platform you work with.
What an AI assistant checks first
- Your menu, with prices
- Your hours
- Your address
- Your dietary options
What the request needs
- A reservation link and an order link that open the page where the booking or order is completed
- Never a link that lands on your homepage or only gives a phone number
What to say on your website
- The same reservation and order links on your website and your Google Business Profile
What AI agents can already do for your customers
Being found is the first step. Once an agent reaches a restaurant, these are the things it can already do for the customer it works for, each from the company's own announcement and marked live, rolling out or announced.
ChatGPT reservations
rolling outSince August 10, 2026, ChatGPT can find open tables through OpenTable worldwide, Resy in the US and Yelp in the US and Canada, and book the one a diner selects.
What you need: Your tables bookable on at least one of those platforms, with availability kept current.
Google AI Mode
liveAI Mode, available in the US and expanding to more countries including the UK, Canada, India and Australia, searches several reservation platforms for real-time availability that fits a diner's request, then links them to finish booking with partners such as OpenTable and Resy.
What you need: Bookings open on a reservation platform Google works with in your country, such as OpenTable or Resy, with availability kept current.
Sources: Google: Agentic booking in AI Mode; Google: 7 ways to travel smarter this summer (Apr 2026)
Gemini
liveIn the US and UK, in English and with a personal Google Account, Gemini can check a restaurant's availability and book or cancel OpenTable reservations, using Reserve with Google, and links to OpenTable to change one.
What you need: An OpenTable listing with live availability.
Google Maps (Ask Maps)
rolling outIn the US, Ask Maps can find an open restaurant serving the dish a diner wants and add it to their cart, through ordering partners such as Uber Eats, Toast and Square.
What you need: Dish names and prices kept current in your ordering system, since that is what the diner orders from.
Sources: Google: Ask Maps food ordering; Google: Google Maps tools to find food (Oct 2026)
Claude (Chrome and built-in browser)
liveOn paid Claude plans, Claude can browse a restaurant's own website in Chrome or in Cowork's built-in browser and fill in its reservation or order form, holding purchases for the person's approval.
What you need: Your own reservation and order pages reachable from your homepage in one click.
Source: Claude: Claude in Chrome
Meta's Muse
rolling outIn the US and Canada, Muse can open a browser and fill out forms for the person it works for, which puts a reservation or order form on your own site within its reach.
What you need: Reservation and order pages on your website that work without a phone call.
Sources: Meta: Introducing Muse; Meta: Muse for Small Business
How we get you ready
Set up on the platforms agents already use
Agents act through your own website and through the booking, ordering and quote platforms your trade uses. We make sure your business is listed, current and easy to act on wherever that fits how you work, and that your website and listings say the same thing.
A connector of your own, where it fits
When your bookings, quotes or orders run on your own systems, we can build a connector on your website using MCP, an open standard many AI assistants use to connect to outside tools, so an assistant that has added your connector can check availability or send a request directly instead of filling in a form.
Where AI reads about restaurants
Your website is one source. AI assistants also draw on what other sites say about you, so these are worth keeping complete and consistent.
Google Business Profile
Your listing on Google Search and Maps, where diners see your menu under a Menu tab. Google says it may copy menu details from your website onto your profile, and that customers can upload photos of your menu too. Check the menu shown there, pick your preferred menu source, flag any out of date menu photo a customer uploaded for removal, and upload a current one of your own.
Yelp
A review site where diners read about local restaurants. Yelp's rules ask businesses not to request reviews from anyone, customers included, and say its software may not recommend reviews that seem prompted by the business. Keep your Yelp Page's hours, menu and photos current, and let the meal earn the reviews.
OpenTable
A reservation platform for restaurants. OpenTable says it has integrations with AI services and search platforms including Google Search, Maps and Gemini, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Perplexity and Amazon's Alexa+, and that it builds restaurant profiles using information from restaurant websites. If you take bookings there, keep your open tables and profile current, and keep your website accurate, since OpenTable draws on it.
Resy
A reservation platform for restaurants and wineries, backed by American Express, that handles everyday reservations, events and waitlists. If you take bookings on Resy, keep your availability, events and restaurant details there in step with your website.
Source: Resy for Restaurants
Tripadvisor
A travel guidance site whose listings cover restaurants as well as hotels and experiences, so visitors planning a trip may read about you there. Keep your listing's hours, contact details and photos current, and reply to reviews in plain, polite words.
Source: Tripadvisor Group: About Us
DoorDash
A delivery and pickup marketplace for restaurants and stores. DoorDash says it pulls a restaurant's menu, photos and hours automatically during setup, and that orders flow into the restaurant's existing order system. After setup, and whenever your menu or prices change, check those details against your website.
Source: DoorDash for Merchants
Rules that change the advice
ChatGPT can find and book tables through OpenTable, Resy and Yelp
OpenAI says that since August 10, 2026, ChatGPT can find available restaurant reservations with OpenTable, Resy and Yelp. A diner says where and when they want to eat, the party size and preferences such as cuisine, budget or dietary needs, sees open times in the answer, and selects one to book it. OpenTable is covered worldwide, Resy in the US, and Yelp in the US and Canada. If your tables are not bookable on one of them, ChatGPT has no open times of yours to show through this feature.
Source: ChatGPT release notes (OpenAI Help Center), August 10, 2026
Google Maps can put a dish in a diner's cart
In the US, Google says Ask Maps in Google Maps can find open restaurants along a diner's route that serve a dish they ask for, take dietary needs into account, and, once the diner picks a restaurant, add that dish to the cart for the diner to review and complete. Ordering works through partners such as Uber Eats, Toast and Square. Keep the dish names and prices in your ordering system current, since that is what a diner would be ordering from.
Sources: Google: Ask Maps gets more helpful with food ordering and more; Google: Google Maps tools to find food (Oct 2026)
Google's rules on reviews: no rewards, no pressure at the table
Google's Maps content policy does not allow reviews posted in exchange for payment, discounts or free goods or services, and removes them. It also says businesses should not require or pressure customers to leave a rating or review while on the premises, or ask for specific content. A free dessert in return for a review breaks this rule. Asking for honest reviews without a reward or pressure is allowed on Google.
Source: Maps User Generated Content Policy: Prohibited and restricted content
What to fix first
Type your menu onto your website, with prices
Put the full menu on a page of your website as typed text, with dish names, prices and dietary labels such as vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free. A PDF or a photo can stay as a download, but the typed page is the one to keep current. Google says it may copy menu details from your website onto your Business Profile, so this page can feed your Google listing too.
Use the same hours everywhere
Make your opening hours, including holiday and special hours, identical on your website, your Google Business Profile, Yelp and every booking or delivery platform you use. When they disagree, an assistant has to guess which one is right, and a diner may turn up to a closed door.
Add a reservation link and an order link that work
Put a clear reservation link and an order online link near the top of your website, and add the same links to your Google Business Profile. Each one should open the page where the booking or the order is completed, not your homepage, a PDF or a phone number.
Take bookings somewhere AI assistants can reach
If you take reservations only by phone, consider a reservation platform. OpenAI says ChatGPT can find open tables through OpenTable worldwide, Resy in the US and Yelp in the US and Canada, and OpenTable says it works with Google, Gemini, ChatGPT, Copilot and Perplexity. Choose the one that suits your restaurant and keep its availability up to date.
Check what the platforms copied about you
Google, OpenTable and DoorDash can fill in your details automatically, from your website or your own systems. After setup, and after every menu or price change, open each listing and fix anything out of date, and on Google flag old menu photos that customers uploaded for removal and add a current one.
Earn reviews without breaking the rules
Never offer a discount or a free item for a review, and never press diners to write one at the table. Google's rules forbid both, and Yelp asks businesses not to request reviews at all. Reply to reviews, good and bad, briefly and politely, so diners and assistants see a restaurant that listens.
This is the start of the A.G.E.N.T.I.C. Framework, the seven phases we use to get a business found, read and used by AI assistants.
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Scan your websiteFrequently Asked Questions
How do AI agents find my restaurant and book a table?
An agent booking for a diner needs your menu, prices, hours and dietary options, then a way to finish the job. OpenAI says ChatGPT is rolling out table booking through OpenTable, Resy and Yelp, each in its own countries, and Google says Ask Maps, rolling out in the US, can put a dish in a diner's cart through ordering partners such as Square and Toast. Keep your typed menu and hours current on your own website, and make sure your tables or orders are available through a platform those agents use.
How do AI assistants decide which restaurants to recommend?
Each AI assistant works in its own way, and no setup guarantees a recommendation. What a restaurant controls is whether its facts are easy to read and agree everywhere: a typed menu with prices on its website, the same hours and address on Google, Yelp and its booking platforms, and honest reviews. Clear facts that match give an assistant something it can repeat with confidence.
Can ChatGPT book a table at my restaurant?
It can if your tables are bookable on a platform it works with. OpenAI says that since August 10, 2026 ChatGPT has been rolling out reservation search with OpenTable worldwide, Resy in the US and Yelp in the US and Canada, and a diner can select a time to book it. If you take bookings only by phone, ChatGPT has no open times of yours to show through that feature.
Can Google Maps take food orders for my restaurant?
Google says Ask Maps, rolling out in the US, can find open restaurants that serve a dish a diner asks for and add that dish to the diner's cart to review and complete. Ordering works through partners such as Uber Eats, Toast and Square. Separately, your Google Business Profile can show order links to your own ordering page or to providers you work with.
Is a PDF or photo of my menu good enough?
Keep it if diners like to download it, but do not rely on it alone. Put the same menu on a page of your website as typed text, with dish names, prices and dietary labels, and keep that page current. Google says it may copy menu details from your website onto your Business Profile, so an out of date web menu can spread to your Google listing.
Should I ask customers to leave reviews?
On Google you may ask, as long as you ask every guest and not only the happy ones, but you may not offer payment, discounts or free food in return, and you should not pressure diners to review while they are still in the restaurant. Yelp asks businesses not to request reviews at all and says its software may not recommend reviews that look requested. The safest approach on both is to serve a good meal and reply to the reviews guests choose to write.
Want AI assistants to recommend your restaurant?
We start with a free AI visibility audit that shows where you stand in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude and Google AI today, and what to fix first.