Google continues to go all in on AI, with its latest innovation transforming how users discover and choose local restaurants.
The search giant's AI-organized search results have officially been expanded to include results for restaurants and bars, offering a more intuitive way for diners to find their next favorite spot.
This update represents a significant shift in how restaurant-related local search results are presented and could have major implications for local businesses and their SEO strategies.
What Are Google's AI-Organized Search Results?
Google's AI-organized search results are the next evolution of Google's increasingly AI-integrated search experience, following on the heels of AI Overviews (formerly Search Generative Experience).
Initially launched as an experimental feature for recipes and meal ideas, Google's AI-organized search results aim to provide users with more easily-digestible search results (no pun intended) that closely align with their search intent and tackle their queries from all angles.
AI-organized search results are sorted into different categories based on the user's search terms, providing overviews and links to different resources from the web that they may find useful. These can include articles, videos, forums, and more.
Google Rolls Out AI-Organized Search Results Pages for Restaurants
In December 2024, Google expanded AI-organized search results to include results for restaurants and bars.
What this means is that now, when you search for something like "best romantic restaurants with a view in New York City," you might see AI-organized search results instead of a traditional local pack followed by organic search results (you'll see an "Organized with AI" disclaimer above results).
What Do Google AI-organized Search Results for Restaurants Look Like?
At the top of AI-organized search results you'll still see a local pack featuring the top results from Google Maps, which you can click on to expand the Google Business Profile listings for. Below this you'll find a "From the web" section, which looks like traditional organic search results (might include links to Tripadvisor, Reddit, travel blogs, etc.).
Now, below the web results section is where things get interesting. This is where Google starts organizing different search results into categories related to your search terms.
For example, you might see categories like "New York City's best rooftop terraces," "Skyline views," "Romantic restaurants with a view," "Waterfront dining," or "Restaurants with outdoor seating." Each category will contain either a carousel view of GBP listing results for restaurants meeting the criteria or a list of website links.
Google's AI-organized search results layout may also include a "Best neighborhoods" section, which provides a map of neighborhoods that you can click on to expand a results carousel of restaurants in that specific part of town. For instance, you might see something like "Best neighborhoods for dining with a view."
According to Near Media, the "Best neighborhoods" section seems to appear when there is a high density of relevant results across different neighborhoods.
Why Do AI-Organized Search Results for Restaurants Matter for Local SEO?
Google rolling out AI-organized search results pages for the restaurant sector is an exciting development in Google's ongoing AI integration, as it provides restaurant businesses with even more opportunities to be found in local searches.
That being said, it could also affect how much traffic and business a restaurant gets via Google Search, making it extremely important to identify and optimize for terms that are generating AI-organized search results.
Not only that, but since Google's AI-organized search results focus so heavily on Google Business Profiles, it could also shake up traffic on other directories.
AI-organized restaurant results sections containing organic web links may still feature other restaurant review sites and directories, like Yelp and Tripadvisor, but these could take even more of a back seat to GBP, especially with links to Reddit and "top X restaurants in [City]"-type articles initially seeming to take up a lot of real estate in AI-organized results.
Overall, AI-organized results are intended to provide users with better, more helpful results for search terms featuring multiple key points, so it will likely become more important than ever for restaurants to optimize for long-tail, conversational queries.
Additionally, hyperlocal relevance will take center stage as Google's AI organizes local results into neighborhood maps and other niche, location-based categories.
Conclusion
As Google continues to experiment with AI-organized search results for restaurants, it's crucial for business owners and marketers to adapt their local SEO strategies accordingly.
This development is part of a broader trend of AI integration in search experiences, similar to what we've recently seen with Bing's generative search features.
While the full impact of these changes remains to be seen, one thing is clear: the way users discover and choose restaurants through search is evolving, and staying ahead of these AI-driven changes will be key to maintaining visibility in local search results.
With such a heavy emphasis on Google Business Profiles in AI-organized results, restaurant owners and marketers should continue to focus on optimizing their GBP listings to ensure they're well-positioned for success in all types of search engine results pages.
Getting featured in top restaurant "listicles" and mentioned on forum-style sites, particularly Reddit, could also provide a major boost to visibility, as these sources are also featured prominently in Google's AI-organized search results.
Regardless of how Google's AIpowered search features develop, they're sure to provide businesses and marketers with exciting new local SEO tactics to incorporate into their strategies!
