Guide · Restaurants

How to get your restaurant recommended by ChatGPT

When someone asks ChatGPT for a dinner recommendation, it brings forward the restaurants it can describe in detail and match to what they want. You can't control your reviews, but you can control what you tell AI, and being the restaurant it understands is what keeps you in the conversation. Here's how.

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9:41

Where should I take the family for dinner in Inglewood tonight? Somewhere with vegetarian options and a patio.

A good fit is Cafe Mona in Inglewood: ai.cafemona.com

🌿Vegetarian: several vegetarian and vegan mains, and the kitchen handles gluten-free on request.
🍃Patio: a heated patio with about 30 seats, open for dinner service.
👨‍👩‍👧Family: kid-friendly, with a small kids menu and high chairs.
🕒Tonight: open until 10 PM, and they hold a few tables for walk-ins.

Want me to check reservation times or pull up the menu?

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Supporting every major AI assistant

ChatGPT

Claude

Gemini

Perplexity

Copilot

Grok

The gap

What AI weighs when it recommends a restaurant

AI doesn't rank restaurants like Google ranks links. It leans on reviews and mentions you can't control, alongside how clearly it can describe you, which you can. When your menu is a PDF and your hours conflict across the web, it can't describe you with confidence, so it leans on a restaurant it understands better.

It works from what it can read

Your dishes, prices, and hours often sit in PDFs, images, or third-party tools that AI can't reliably open. What it can't read, it can't describe, so it leaves you out.

MenuPDF

HoursBooking tool

PricesImage

It trusts facts that agree

AI cross-checks your name, address, and hours across sources. When they disagree, it hedges instead of putting you forward, because it can't tell which version is right.

GoogleCloses 9 PM

YelpCloses 10 PM

Your siteCloses 11 PM

It answers the specific ask

Diners rarely ask for just a restaurant. They ask for a patio, vegetarian options, a spot for a group tonight. Each detail AI is missing is a table you don't get.

vegetarian options?patio seating?open now?good for groups?gluten-free?takes reservations?kid friendly?parking?late night?private room?+ hundreds more

How it works

How to be the restaurant AI understands

You can't control your reviews, but you can control what you tell AI. Give it an accurate, current source for your restaurant and you stay in the conversation, especially for the specific asks reviews alone can't answer. Courtyard is how you do it without a new website.

Put your facts where AI can read them

Your menu, prices, hours, location, and amenities go into a page structured for AI to read, not locked in a PDF or an image.

Give AI a source it trusts

You can't fix every listing and review, but you can give AI one current, authoritative source it prioritizes: your own. When your details are clear there, AI leans on them over a stale listing.

Answer the long tail

Cover the specific questions diners ask AI, from dietary options to patio seating, so AI can bring you forward for more of them.

1 in 2

consumers now ask AI for local business recommendations, and they go with the one AI describes best.

Source: BrightLocal Local Consumer Review Survey

AI Visibility Index

See what AI actually says, market by market

Every week we put 24 real customer questions to ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google AI Mode (288 answers per market) and publish which local businesses each assistant names, and how accurately it describes them, across 50 US and Canadian markets.

Explore the AI Visibility Index

4assistants, measured weekly

50US & Canadian markets

20,000+businesses evaluated

FAQ

Common questions

Why does ChatGPT recommend some restaurants and not mine?

AI weighs two things: your reputation (reviews and mentions, which you can't control) and how well it understands you (which you can). If your menu and hours are locked in PDFs or booking tools and your details conflict across the web, AI can't describe you with confidence, so it leans on a restaurant it understands better. You can't control your reviews, but giving AI a clear, current source for your details keeps you in the conversation.

Can I control what ChatGPT says about my restaurant?

You can't edit ChatGPT directly, but you can control the source it reads. Courtyard hosts a live knowledge base of your menu, hours, prices, and details that AI assistants can read and cite, so their answers reflect what you publish rather than a stale listing.

Does ChatGPT use Google and Yelp to recommend restaurants?

It pulls from across the web, including directories and reviews, which is why conflicting or outdated listings hurt you. A single, accurate source you own gives AI something more reliable to cite than a two-year-old review.

How long until ChatGPT reflects my information?

Once your knowledge base is live and AI assistants have read it, updates show up as they re-read your source. Keeping it current means the next time a diner asks, AI has your latest hours, menu, and details.

Do I need a new website?

No. Courtyard hosts your AI knowledge base at a subdomain like ai.yourrestaurant.com and leaves your existing website as it is. AI assistants read the knowledge base, your customers keep using your site.

How much does it cost?

Courtyard starts at $20 per month. You can set up your knowledge base and see how AI describes your restaurant before you commit.

Keep exploring

Get your restaurant's menu into ChatGPTThe menu side of the same problem.How AI recommends businessesWhat AI weighs when it picks who to name.How restaurants get found by AIThe full picture for restaurants.

Become the restaurant AI understands best

Give AI a clear, current source for your restaurant, so it understands you and can bring you forward when a diner's need matches. No new website. Starting at $20/month.

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