How Google’s AI answers are changing the way guests find you
Google is changing how people find places to eat, drink and stay. More and more searches now end with a written answer from Google, not a list of websites to click on. On 28th October, Google confirmed it plans to start showing adverts inside these answers in the UK before the end of 2026.
If you run a hotel, restaurant, pub or attraction, this affects how guests find you. Here’s what’s changing, why it matters and what you can do about it.
What’s changing
Google now offers a way of searching it calls AI Mode. You type a question as you’d ask a friend, and Google writes you a short answer, pulling together what it has read across the internet.
Search “where should I eat in Dorset this weekend?” and you won’t get ten blue links. You’ll get a few paragraphs that name a handful of restaurants, with a line or two on each. Many people will read that answer, pick a place and only visit that website.
ChatGPT and other AI assistants work in much the same way, and a growing number of guests use them to plan trips and nights out.
Why it matters for your business
There are two changes to watch:
Paid places at the top. Google already shows adverts in AI Mode in the US and has just expanded them to ten more countries. The UK is next on its list. Businesses already running Google Ads will be included by default, so some of the venues named at the top of an answer will have paid to be there.
Fewer visits to your website. When people get their answer straight away, fewer of them click through. European news publishers have complained that AI Mode sends fewer than 5% of searches on to an outside website, according to MediaNama. Your website still matters, but it’s no longer the only place a guest forms a first impression.
What decides whether you get mentioned
Aside from the paid spots, Google builds its answers from what trusted sources have already said. That means:
- Reviews on Google, Tripadvisor and booking sites
- Local and regional press, such as newspaper features and what’s on listings
- Food, drink and travel guides, from national round ups to county guides
- Magazine and trade features about your venue, your chef or your story
If those sources describe you well and often, you’re far more likely to appear when a guest asks for a recommendation. If they say little, or they’re out of date, Google has little to go on.
In other words, your reputation in the right publications now feeds directly into how guests find you.
Three things you can do this month
- Ask the AI about yourself. Open Google or ChatGPT and ask it to recommend a venue like yours in your town. Do you appear? Is what it says accurate, and which sources does it seem to be drawing on?
- Keep your basics up to date. Check your Google Business Profile, opening hours, menus and booking links. Reply to reviews, good and bad. These are the details AI answers repeat most often.
- Give people something to write about. A new menu, a seasonal event, a supplier you champion or a story behind your building all give journalists and guide editors a reason to feature you. Each mention adds to the picture Google draws on.
How we can help
At In The Bag PR, we work with hospitality, food and drink and tourism businesses across the South West. Getting the right people talking about you in the right places has always been at the heart of what we do. As more guests find venues through AI answers, that work counts for even more.
If you’d like to know how your business shows up when guests ask Google or ChatGPT for a recommendation, get in touch. We’re happy to take a look with you.
Sources
- Google Ads blog: Ads in AI Mode expand globally, 28 October 2026
• • MediaNama: Google to expand AI Mode ads as search revenue growth slows, 30 October 2026
