How AI search finds and recommends restaurants in Dubai

Two friends land at DXB on a Thursday evening and one of them types into ChatGPT: “Lebanese restaurant near Dubai Marina, open late, not too expensive, can we book for 10pm?” The answer names three places with a line on each, a map and, for one of them, a booking button. The restaurants that made the list did nothing special for AI. Their menus, prices, hours and locations were simply easy to find and to read.

How each assistant looks for a restaurant

• ChatGPT can use an approximate location, or the device location if the user allows it, for local questions such as restaurants. OpenAI says it may share location with trusted third-party providers to show nearby business listings, and that maps can appear in results. Table reservations come from OpenTable worldwide, on eligible plans.
• Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode use Google's search index. Google says a page must be indexed and eligible to show with a snippet, and its advice for these features includes keeping your Business Profile up to date.
• Microsoft Copilot: Microsoft's webmaster guidelines cover Bing search and Copilot answers together, so a restaurant that Bing knows well starts ahead. Bing Places for Business is free and its listings show in Bing search and Maps.

None of these companies publishes the full recipe for which restaurants are named. What they do publish points the same way: be findable in their index and listings, and make your facts easy to read.

What an assistant needs from your website

Guests ask about the same few things, and an assistant can only answer them if your website states them plainly:

• The menu as text on a page, with dishes and prices. A menu that exists only as a photo or a PDF is much harder to read and quote.
• Cuisine and style in words: Lebanese grill, Kerala seafood, vegan bakery, family style, shisha terrace.
• Opening hours that are current, including late nights, Friday brunch and Ramadan hours.
• Location in plain words and on a map: area, building, landmark and parking.
• How to book or order: a booking link, WhatsApp or delivery, with the price range.

Our study of 11,029 UAE restaurants found that only 13 % have a website that loads, is up to date and works on a phone. 54 % are online only through a social media page. For an assistant that reads the web, most of these restaurants are close to invisible.

Structured data for restaurants

Google's documentation for local business markup asks for the most specific type, such as Restaurant, with name and address required. It recommends the menu link, the cuisine, opening hours, the price range, the phone number, the website and coordinates. Schema.org also defines a Menu type with sections and items, and an acceptsReservations property. The markup has to match what guests can see on the page. Our guide to structured data for a local business shows the basics.

Your listings matter as much as your website

Assistants compare what your website says with your Google Business Profile, your Bing Places listing and the booking platforms you use. Google says local results depend on relevance, distance and prominence, and that prominence draws on how many websites link to a business and how many reviews it has. Keep the name, address, phone, hours and menu link identical in all of them.

Our restaurant websites are built this way: the menu as text you change from your phone, the hours everywhere at once and a button to order on WhatsApp.

Questions