A 2026 study by MyPlace analyzed how AI assistants like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Perplexity recommend restaurants. The key finding: AI-recommended restaurants average 3,424 Google reviews compared to 955 for comparable non-recommended restaurants. Star ratings above 4.4 had minimal impact on recommendation likelihood, suggesting review volume is the dominant ranking signal in AI-powered restaurant discovery.

DUBLIN, Feb. 8, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — New research from MyPlace, a guest engagement platform for hospitality, reveals that artificial intelligence recommendation engines prioritize review volume over star ratings when suggesting restaurants to consumers.

The study analyzed restaurant recommendations across ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Perplexity, finding that AI-recommended restaurants average 3,424 Google reviews, while comparable non-recommended restaurants average just 955, a 3.6x gap.

“Most restaurant owners focus on getting five-star reviews. Our research shows that once you’re above roughly 4.4 stars, what matters to AI is how many reviews you have, not whether you’re a 4.5 or a 4.8,” said Peadar Gormley, founder of MyPlace.

Key findings include:

• AI-recommended restaurants average 3,424 Google reviews vs. 955 for non-recommended restaurants
• Star ratings above 4.4 have minimal impact on AI recommendation likelihood
• Restaurants with fewer than 1,000 reviews rarely appear in AI suggestions
• The 2,000-review mark appears to be a significant threshold for AI visibility

The findings have significant implications for restaurant operators as consumer behavior shifts toward AI-assisted discovery. According to recent industry data, a growing share of consumers now use AI assistants to decide where to eat, replacing traditional search engine queries.

“This creates a new kind of digital divide in hospitality,” Gormley added. “Restaurants that actively generate reviews will be visible to AI. Those that don’t will be invisible, regardless of how good the food is.”

The full research is available at https://myplace.app/ai-ranking-factors-for-restaurants-research-2026/

Media Contact

Peadar Gormley, MyPlace, 353 16606435, [email protected], https://myplace.app/

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SOURCE MyPlace