# AI Visibility for New York Restaurants AI Visibility Index, week of Friday, July 17, 2026. Customers are already asking AI which restaurant to call. Showing up in the answer is only half of it. What decides the job is whether AI can actually answer for you: what you offer, when you're free, what it costs. This breaks down where New York, NY Restaurants businesses stand in AI answers today, where it falls apart, and how to fix it. ## The short version - We put 24 real customer questions about New York, NY Restaurants to ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Mode. The same handful of names recur, but only 9 (Gramercy Tavern, Le Bernardin, Via Carota, La Mercerie, ATOMIX, Le Coucou, Katz's Delicatessen, The River Café and Carmine's) are named by all four. - Being listed isn't being answered for. AI nails what you do and whether you do it, then breaks down on the questions that decide the job. - Ask what you charge and every assistant invents a different number: on Per Se the quotes span $950, on Eleven Madison Park $705. Ask when you're available and it hedges: "I can't book on your behalf, call them." - Fix the gaps below (pricing first) and you move from a name in a list to the business AI can actually book. ## 1. See where you stand Which businesses AI names isn't random. Ask ChatGPT "who's the best restaurant in New York?" a few times and you'll see the same handful of names, right now that's Gramercy Tavern, Le Bernardin and Khaosan. Only Gramercy Tavern, Le Bernardin, Via Carota, La Mercerie, ATOMIX, Le Coucou, Katz's Delicatessen, The River Café and Carmine's are named across all four assistants. If your business isn't in that set, AI isn't recommending you yet, and no amount of ad spend changes that. Check where you rank ## 2. Showing up isn't the same as being answered for AI is good at the surface questions. It answered what they offer 35% of the time and fit 31%, directly and accurately. It's the decision questions where it falls apart. Across the New York, NY Restaurants businesses we tracked, on availability it hedged or deflected 85% the time, and on pricing the assistants' quotes for a single business diverged by as much as $950. Those are the exact questions a customer asks right before they book. > Ask when you're available and AI won't commit: "I can help you check, but I can't book on your behalf." Ask what you charge and every assistant invents a different number: on Per Se the quotes span $950, on Eleven Madison Park $705. A customer comparing prices through AI is getting fabricated quotes. We roll this into a depth score: how completely AI can carry a customer to a booking. Semma tops the New York board at 55; Via Carota sits at 37, not because it's a worse business, but because AI has nothing concrete to say about why you'd choose it. Depth is the difference between a name in a list and the business AI actually books the job with. ## 3. The five things AI needs to know about you These are the five dimensions we grade depth on, and the exact checklist for moving from "mentioned" to "booked." Get each one accurate, complete and current everywhere AI looks. 1. Menu & offerings. AI already gets this mostly right, so keep it complete: the full menu, dine-in, takeout, delivery, and catering. Spell out signature dishes rather than a generic cuisine label. Keep: a current menu and catering list AI can read. 2. Reservations & availability [AI hedges]. AI knows you take reservations but won't commit to a real table at a real time: "they appear to book online, but I can't confirm 7pm Saturday; call them." That deflection loses the booking. Fix: connect live reservations so AI can say "a table for two at 7pm is open" instead of sending them to the phone. 3. Price per person [AI invents it]. AI doesn't stay silent on cost. It fabricates a price per person, and every assistant guesses differently. Diners get a fake number and the wrong expectation. Fix: publish a real price range and any prix-fixe or set menu AI can quote. 4. Dietary & private dining [AI hedges]. Ask about vegan, gluten-free, allergies, or a private room and AI hedges: "they may have options, but check with the restaurant." That uncertainty sends the table elsewhere. Fix: state your vegan, gluten-free, allergy, and private-dining options so AI can send you the right guests. 5. What you're known for [AI goes generic]. Ask why choose you and AI recites "great food and cozy atmosphere," true of everyone and useless to a diner. Fix: give AI one concrete thing you're known for: the wood-fired pasta, a chef's-table tasting, the best patio in town. ## The fastest way to close the gap This is exactly what Courtyard does. It builds a living knowledge base of your business and connects it to your booking, hours, services and pricing, so AI stays accurate and can recommend and book through you, not an aggregator. Set up in about 10 minutes, first month free. Then watch your depth score climb week over week. The more AI understands your business, the more customers it sends. ## Frequently asked questions ### Why does AI get my pricing wrong? Because it's guessing. If your pricing isn't published where AI can read it, each assistant fills the gap differently. We saw a $950 spread across assistants on Per Se. The fix isn't to hide pricing; it's to give AI something accurate to say. ### How do I know if AI recommends my business? Look it up on the AI Visibility Index. You'll see which of the four assistants name you, your share of voice, and your depth score. If you're not listed, AI isn't surfacing you yet. ### Isn't this just SEO for AI? No. SEO ranks a webpage. This is whether AI understands your business well enough to help someone who's already asking: the right services, the real availability, an accurate price. Ranking doesn't help if the assistant can't answer the next question. --- Rankings reflect the output of third-party AI assistants (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google AI Mode) on the dates measured. They are an observed, sourced measurement of how those assistants describe and rank each business, not an endorsement, certification, or rating by Courtyard. AI output changes over time and may be incomplete or inaccurate. Business names and descriptions are taken from the AI responses themselves. Measured across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google AI Mode. Snapshot captured Fri Jul 17, 2026. An index by Courtyard.