preferly

How can my restaurant show up when people ask AI where to eat?

AI recommends restaurants it can match to a cuisine, a neighborhood, a price and a time. Put your menu with prices in text, not only a PDF or photo. Keep hours, including holiday hours, identical across your site and listings, and get named on the local lists and review sites AI reads.

Updated October 22, 2026

Questions diners ask AI

  • “Best tacos in [neighborhood] open late”
  • “Kid-friendly brunch in [city] that takes reservations”
  • “Gluten-free pizza near [landmark]”
  • “Quiet restaurant for a date in [city]”
  • “Where to eat near [venue] before a show”

Preferly runs the same check for every kind of business. It writes questions for your business from your website and, for local businesses, your Google profile.

What AI needs

  • A text menu with prices, not only a PDF or photo.
  • Dietary options: vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free.
  • Hours, and holiday hours with dates.
  • Reservation and ordering links.
  • Your neighborhood and nearby landmarks.
  • Restaurant markup with servesCuisine, hasMenu, openingHoursSpecification and acceptsReservations. See Does schema markup help my business show up in AI answers?

Listings and reviews

Google Business Profile, Apple Business Connect, Yelp, delivery and booking apps, and local food guides and lists. Yelp says ChatGPT users can reserve a table or join a waitlist at some restaurants in the US and Canada through Yelp, without leaving the chat. Make sure AI can reach your own site too: the free crawler check shows whether it can.

Wrong hours are the most common complaint

Holiday hours left up, an old listing, a delivery app nobody updated. See Why does AI give the wrong hours for my business, and how do I fix it?

Questions

Does a PDF menu hurt my restaurant in AI answers?

It can. AI tools read text more reliably than PDFs and images. Put the menu on a web page too.

Do delivery apps affect what AI says?

Yes. AI may read your listing on delivery and booking sites. Keep their hours and menus current.

Should I block AI crawlers to protect my recipes or photos?

Blocking search crawlers can keep your own pages out of AI answers. You can block training crawlers only. See Should I block AI crawlers?

Why does AI say we’re closed on Mondays?

Usually it’s repeating a source that says so: an old listing, a delivery or booking app, or holiday hours that were never removed. Ask the AI tool where it found that, correct that source, and keep your hours the same everywhere. See wrong hours.

Sources

Start free check

3 AI models, 5 customer questions, about a minute. Or check whether AI crawlers can reach your site.