When AI Picks the Restaurant

Written By Mark McManus

Picture this: you’ve booked tickets to The Lion King in London this Saturday at 7.30 pm. You want somewhere great to eat beforehand. Where do you go first?

Until recently, the answer would be Google, TripAdvisor, or OpenTable. But in 2025, the way people discover restaurants is evolving. Increasingly, they’re turning to TikTok, Instagram, and — most importantly — AI assistants like ChatGPT. And the places AI suggests often look very different from what you’d find on Google.

The Side-by-Side Test

To see the difference in action, I asked the exact same prompt to both ChatGPT and Google:

“I’m going to see The Lion King in London this Saturday at 7.30 pm and I want to book a pre-theatre meal for 2 beforehand.”

Here’s what I got:

ChatGPT’s recommendations:
• Hawksmoor Seven Dials
• Coral Pearl
• The Ivy Market Grill
• Flat Iron Covent Garden
• Dishoom Covent Garden
• Rules

Google’s top picks:
• Palm Court Brasserie
• The Delaunay
• Gilgamesh (closed !)
• Flesh & Buns
• Boulevard Brasserie
• Sushi Samba

One side: perfect picks around Covent Garden, tailored for a theatre evening.

The other side: a scattershot list — including a closed restaurant — that doesn’t always match the brief.

This contrast is more than just amusing — it signals a shift in how customers make decisions.

Why This Matters for Hospitality

Restaurants, bars, hotels, venues — the challenge isn’t only being found. The new challenge is being chosen by AI.

Here are the stakes:

  • AI doesn’t show ads. It offers curated answers. If your restaurant isn’t in the data or signals the AI considers, it might never appear.

  • Intent is explicit. People ask AI with very precise desire: “pre-theatre dinner near Covent Garden at 6.30 pm”. That’s high intent — if you show up, you’re in a strong position.

  • SEO dominance doesn’t guarantee AI visibility. Just because you rank on page one in Google doesn’t mean AI will pick your spot.

In short: the customer journey is fragmenting. Search → discovery → booking is no longer linear.

What Is AIO? (And Why It Matters More Than SEO Alone)

To thrive in this new environment, I’m advocating for something I call AIO — AI Optimisation.

AIO is about ensuring your hospitality brand is visible, understood, and favoured by large language models (LLMs) when they answer real customer questions. It shares similarities with SEO — but with important differences:

  • SEO is about ranking in search engines. AIO is about being recommended in AI answers.

  • SEO rewards keywords and backlink structures. AIO rewards reputation, structured data, coherence across sources, and contextual relevance.

  • SEO is often a long play. AIO gives opportunities for faster impact, if you focus on the right signals.

From the hospitality side, AIO involves:

  • Structured menus, opening hours, and reservation links in formats AI can read reliably.

  • Consistent listings across review sites, directories, and local data aggregators.

  • Encouraging rich customer reviews that describe the atmosphere, cuisine, location, and “why they loved it.”

  • Generating mentions in press, blogs, influencer content, and social media that AI models can ingest.

  • Ensuring brand name, location signals, and descriptive keywords are coherent across platforms.

With proper AIO, your brand becomes part of the AI “knowledge graph” that powers recommendations.

Better Conversions from AI Traffic

Here’s a compelling benefit: traffic from AI assistants often converts better than traditional organic traffic.

Why? Because:

  1. Pre-filtered intent. When someone asks AI, they already have their criteria. They’re not exploring—they’re evaluating.

  2. Trust in curation. The AI has narrowed options, making the list feel like a trusted shortlist, not a random SERP dump.

  3. Higher confidence. Users who click from an AI recommendation often believe it's an endorsement, not an ad.

For restaurants and hospitality businesses, that translates to faster bookings, higher show-up rates, and better ROI per visitor.

In effect: AI doesn’t just help you get discovered — it helps you get booked.

What Makes a Freelancer Like Me a Smart Choice for Hospitality AIO

You might ask: why hire a freelancer (me) rather than adding another agency or doing it in-house? Here’s how I bring value:

  • Hands-on specialism. I can focus deeply on mapping your data, listings, reviews, and reputation signals — the “invisible plumbing” of AI discovery — while larger agencies may spread their efforts.

  • Agile & adaptive. AI and LLM landscapes evolve quickly. I can pivot faster in response to new developments than slower processes in larger setups.

  • Cost efficiency. You pay for impact, not overhead. For many hospitality brands, a focused freelancer approach gives better ROI.

  • Full stack digital & AI mindset. Beyond just SEO or social media, I bridge digital strategy and AI optimisation to help your venue work across all discovery channels.

  • Hospitality experience. I already understand the specific needs of restaurants, bars, hotels — their booking windows, high-intent times, seasonality, and local competition.

When you partner with me, you aren't just hiring someone to “do SEO” — you're investing in AI-driven discovery, positioning your venue to be chosen, not just found.

Mark McManus
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The Future of AI in Restaurants: Transforming the Dining Experience