Three restaurants took 90% of AI mentions in 14 of 16 city and cuisine groups
When we asked ChatGPT and Gemini where to eat in four US cities (November 2026), the three most-named restaurants in each city and cuisine group received 90% or more of all mentions in 14 of the 16 groups.
- In 14 of 16 groups, the top three restaurants took 90% or more of mentions.
- Exceptions: Austin Thai (70%) and San Diego Mexican (82%).
- For most restaurants the question is whether they are one of the three.
The numbers
- Mentions counted across 24 answers per group (12 ChatGPT, 12 Gemini), only for the restaurants in our sample.
- Top-three share was 100% in 8 groups and between 94% and 98% in 6 more.
- Austin Thai (10 restaurants) and San Diego Mexican (6) were the most evenly spread.
Source and method
Frisler Digital Restaurant AI Visibility Study 2026. 101 restaurants that Google Maps lists first for Mexican, Thai, Italian and Indian food in Austin, Denver, Nashville and San Diego. Six everyday questions per city and cuisine (for example “What are the best Thai restaurants in Austin, TX?”), asked to ChatGPT (gpt-5.4-mini) and Gemini (gemini-3.6-flash) with web search on, twice each: 24 answers per restaurant, 383 usable answers in all. A restaurant counted as named if its name appeared in the answer. Collected November 14, 2026.
How to read this
A snapshot of two assistants on one day. The sample is restaurants Google already lists at the top, so an average restaurant is probably less visible. Groups are small (5 to 13 restaurants). A mention is not always a recommendation.
What it suggests
- AI answers behave like a short list, not a ranking with many places.
- Local “best of” lists and review sites that the assistants search are where the short list is decided.
The full study, with all five findings, is the Restaurant AI Visibility Study 2026. You are welcome to quote these figures with a link to this page.
Common questions
Short, direct answers.
How many restaurants does an AI assistant usually recommend?
Answers name several, but across repeated questions the same two or three restaurants per cuisine and city took almost all mentions in our test.
Was this true in every city?
In 14 of 16 city and cuisine groups. Austin Thai and San Diego Mexican were more evenly spread.
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