The landscape of online research is rapidly evolving with the rise of conversational AIs like ChatGPT and Bing's co-pilot. More and more internet users are turning to these intelligent assistants to find information or recommendations, including in the restaurant field.

By 2025, nearly half of consumers will already be using an AI-powered search engine to guide their decisions. This means that your restaurant must be visible and relevant not only on Google but also in the eyes of these new AI tools.

Here are three key strategies to stay ahead in the responses of ChatGPT and its peers.

1. Manage your presence on all relevant online platforms

The first step to being recommended by an AI is to ensure a strong and consistent presence for your restaurant on all reliable directories and platforms. ChatGPT relies on the information available on the web—including business profiles and review sites—to formulate its responses.

In practice:

• Update your business listings on Google, Bing Places, Facebook, Tripadvisor, The Fork, Yelp, and others. Make sure the name, address, phone number, hours, and website are accurate and identical everywhere (NAP consistency). Conflicting or outdated information can cause confusion and lower your online reliability.

  
  

• Claim and optimize your Bing Places profile. Even though Google dominates in France, Bing is gaining importance because ChatGPT partially uses Bing’s data for its results. A well-ranked establishment on Bing is more likely to appear in the sources analyzed by the AI.

  
  

• Occupy specialized review sites and directories. For example, ensure you have an up-to-date profile on Tripadvisor, La Fourchette/TheFork, and any platform your customers may consult. ChatGPT considers content from trusted sites like local guides or review aggregators when conducting its searches. A complete profile with good reviews on these sites increases your chances of being mentioned.

In summary, the more your restaurant is visible online with reliable information, the more easily ChatGPT can select you in its responses. This approach to Presence Management ensures that the AI finds you and trusts you as a relevant source.

2. Optimize your website with a store locator and semantic markup

Your website is a key asset in influencing AI engine results. ChatGPT and similar AIs analyze indexed web pages to extract precise information about your establishment. To maximize your chances of being understood and quoted by AI, pay attention to the following points :

• Create a clear location page. If you manage multiple restaurants, provide a store locator (a "Our restaurants" or "Where to find us" page) listing each address with its contact details. For a single restaurant, ensure that a "Contact/Address" page or the homepage clearly displays the address, phone number, hours, and access map. The AI assistant should easily identify where your establishment is located and what services it offers.

  
  

• Add semantic markup (Schema.org). Use the “Restaurant” or “LocalBusiness” schema in your website's HTML code to mark up key information (name, address, phone, hours, menu, price range, etc.). This structured markup helps algorithms correctly interpret the content. A website with well-structured content sends better trust signals to AI engines. For instance, customer reviews on your site can be marked up using schema “review” to be taken into account.

  
  

• Offer local and up-to-date content. Describe your restaurant, its ambiance, specialties, and neighborhood. Optionally, integrate a blog with articles about your cuisine or city. ChatGPT values detailed, useful, and recent content to answer users' questions. A blog article like "How We Select Our Local Wines in Bordeaux" could very well be referenced by AI in a response, thereby increasing your organic visibility through AI.

By optimizing your website in this way, you make it AI-friendly. The assistant can more easily extract the necessary elements from your pages to recommend your restaurant (for example, by listing your contact details or quoting a customer testimonial from your site). A complete, structured, and up-to-date site is your best ally for being chosen by AI engines.

3. Take care of your e-reputation and customer reviews on all platforms

Online reviews are the lifeblood for restaurants, and this is even more true in the age of conversational AIs. ChatGPT, Bing Copilot, and others aim to provide the most relevant recommendations to users: they will therefore rely on the reputation of each establishment, often measured by its customer reviews and its average rating.

Some actions to shine in terms of e-reputation :

• Regularly collect positive reviews. Encourage your satisfied customers to leave a review on Google, Tripadvisor, or other relevant platforms. The more recent and glowing reviews a restaurant accumulates, the more it will stand out as an obvious choice for AI. ChatGPT, for example, admits to favoring sources with a good average rating and many recent reviews. Aiming for a large number of authentic reviews will dilute the impact of any isolated criticism.

  
  

• Respond to reviews - especially negative ones. Show that you are active and attentive. Thank the authors of positive reviews and professionally address those who are negative or mixed. Not only is this important for internet users (the majority of consumers care about restaurateurs' responses to reviews), but active presence in review management can also become a trust criterion for AI. For instance, if a constructive dialogue is visible on your Google profile, ChatGPT might mention it or consider it as proof of your seriousness.

  
  

• Monitor your overall rating and multi-platform reputation. Do not neglect secondary review sites. If your restaurant is highly praised on Google but gathers negative reviews on Facebook or The Fork, this can send conflicting signals. Align your reputation by maintaining a good level of customer satisfaction everywhere. ChatGPT aggregates information from multiple sources on the web, so it might just as easily “see” a local blog post praising you as a series of negative comments on a forum. Be vigilant and try to resolve issues proactively to avoid unpleasant surprises online.

In short, proactively managing your e-reputation is essential. In a world where an AI can summarize in a few sentences the general opinion about your establishment, it is better that this summary is positive! Restaurants with an excellent online reputation will naturally be highlighted by AI assistants, at the expense of poorly rated or inactive competitors online.

Conclusion : Towards expanded visibility thanks to AIs

Staying visible on ChatGPT and other search AIs in 2025 ultimately comes down to reinforcing your online presence fundamentals. A well-structured site, complete business listings, and an excellent reputation form the winning trio to please both AI algorithms and internet users. Restaurants that adapt today to these new usages (voice search, AI recommendations, etc.) will gain a competitive edge.

As an independent restaurateur, don't miss out on this technological revolution.

Adapt your digital strategy so that your establishment stands out in AI responses.

And if you want to go further, we can help you with that : contact us for a free local SEO audit of your restaurant – we will assess together your online visibility and the actions to boost it in the era of AI.