How to Win AI Search: the New Rules of Restaurant Discovery

For a long time, restaurants have optimized for one thing: traditional search.“Best pizza near me.” “BBQ in Austin.” “Happy hour downtown.”The rules were clear, the rankings predictable, and the strategy—local SEO, review management, mobile-friendly websites—was largely settled.That era is over.Avi Goren, co-founder and CEO of Marqii, says a fundamental shift is underway, one that will reorganize how guests discover restaurants and how restaurants are expected to show up online.“AI search isn’t about links. It’s about answers,” Goren explains. “The guest used to search for one thing. Now they’re asking for an itinerary.”Instead of picking a single restaurant, consumers ask AI models like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini to plan multi-day trips, filter by dietary restrictions, eliminate chains, evaluate hours, and curate options based on ratings and atmosphere.And those models are surfacing restaurants using data patterns that look very different from the SEO playbook operators have relied on for 20 years.Restaurant operators are entering a new battleground: the race to be discoverable in AI-generated results.Below is a breakdown of what’s changed, what drives AI rankings today, and the specific steps operators must take to avoid being left behind.-The Search Playbook* Eliminate PDF menus* Fix your hours everywhere* Make your website readable by machines* Post with intent* Respond to every review-The Rise of “Answer-Based” SearchWhen someone types “Best tacos in Denver” into Google, they expect a list of links, maps, and review sites.But when that same person opens ChatGPT, the prompt looks totally different:“I’m heading to Denver for a weekend with my kids. Give me a two-day itinerary with lunch and dinner options, only local restaurants with at least four stars, mostly within 10 minutes of the zoo.”Google would never deliver that. AI search does it instantly.Goren says this shift isn’t hypothetical—it’s already happening.“This is consumer behavior,” he says. “And as an industry, we always have to go where the guest goes.”The Data That AI Models Actually Rely OnMarqii analyzed how AI models assemble restaurant recommendations today. According to Goren, three sources dominate:1. Third-Party ListingsGoogle Business Profiles, Yelp, TripAdvisor, DoorDash, Uber Eats—these citations remain the single largest input into AI restaurant recommendations.“When your listings are wrong, stale, or incomplete,” Goren says, “you disappear.”2. Your Own WebsiteYour website matters more than ever, but only the parts AI can actually read.PDF menus? They’re dead weight.AI models rely on structured, crawler-friendly data. If your menu is a flat file, an image, or a non-schema page, you’re invisible.Hours matter too. Not just restaurant hours, but bar hours, pickup hours, delivery hours, brunch hours. AI wants granular accuracy.3. ReviewsReviews carry outsize influence in AI search.But it’s no longer just your score. It’s also: How often you respond, how detailed your responses are, or how up-to-date the sentiment is.“AI is reading your reviews faster than any human ever could,” Goren notes.“Your review strategy is now part of your discovery strategy.”Photos, Captions, and Social Posts Are Search InputsAnother major shift: AI models scrape far more sources than Google’s local SEO.That means your Instagram photo captions matter a lot more now.“If you post a picture of your Nashville hot chicken sandwich,” Goren says, “you need a descriptive caption. AI will pull from that.”It’s not about hashtags—it’s about clarity. What’s the dish? What are the ingredients? What dietary category does it fit? What neighborhood is the restaurant in?All of it becomes structured context for AI models.How Marqii Fits Into the AI Search EraMarqii now structures its entire product suite around the AI discovery problem.Citations & Listings Management: Because over 40% of AI results pull from listings, Marqii ensures every third-party profile remains accurate—menus, hours, categories, photos, delivery details, and more.Schema-Structured Menus & Hours Widgets: The company’s menu and hours widgets ensure your website contains the machine-readable data AI models rely on—and stays synced with your POS data feed. “If your hours don’t match across the internet, AI isn’t going to trust them,” Goren says. “Our widget solves that.”High-Performance Location Pages: Host, Marqii’s location-page product, is designed to improve both human UX and AI discoverability. Pages load fast, contain structured location data, and are updated automatically via the Marqii dashboard.AI Search Is Here—And the Winners Are Preparing NowAvi Goren’s message is simple: restaurants can’t afford to treat AI search like a future problem.Guests are already using AI to plan meals, vacations, daily routines, and family outings. The recommendation engines behind those tools will increasingly shape restaurant decision-making.Operators who want consistent reservations, steady traffic, and reliable visibility must ensure their data is structured, accurate, and discoverable across every platform.“It’s getting more complex,” he says. “But with the right tools, it’s absolutely manageable. And the restaurants who embrace this shift early are going to win.”For operators ready to take the next step, Goren points them directly to Marqii:“We’re always happy to talk shop. This is what we do.”Schedule a free demo todayThanks for reading Restaurant Technology! 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