How Gemini and Google's AI recommend hotels, restaurants and cafés
Updated By Akkrev
Gemini, AI Overviews and AI Mode lean on Google's own data. Why your Google Business Profile matters more than ever for AI recommendations.
Google’s AI features (the Gemini app, AI Overviews in search and AI Mode) have something other assistants don’t: Google Maps and Google Business Profiles for millions of businesses.
What Google’s AI draws on
- Your Business Profile: category, hours, price level, attributes such as “dog-friendly” or “Wi-Fi”, photos and reviews.
- Google reviews: what guests say, and how recently.
- Google Hotels: rates and availability for hotels.
- The web: your site and the pages that mention you.
Why the profile matters so much
For local questions such as “café near me with outdoor seating”, Google’s AI can answer straight from Maps data. A profile with the wrong category, missing attributes or old hours can drop you from the answer before anything else is considered.
What to look at
- Is your primary category specific? “Italian restaurant” beats “Restaurant”.
- Are attributes filled in for the things guests ask about?
- Are hours, including holiday hours, correct?
- Do recent reviews mention what you want to be known for?
Check it
Ask Gemini the questions your guests ask and compare its answer with your profile. Our plans track Gemini alongside ChatGPT, Grok and Claude.