Randy Eachus is the founder of Digital Planet, a marketing agency specializing in custom websites, creative marketing, and digital advertising. He is also the driving force behind Liftoff Business Strategies, where he offers strategic insights and guidance to help businesses achieve their growth objectives.
If you run a bar, restaurant, or hospitality space, you already know the industry never stands still. One minute you’re fine-tuning your cocktail list, the next you’re rethinking your entire online presence. And right now the biggest shift to hit the industry in years is here: artificial intelligence.
For a long time, the way customers discovered your business was simple: Google. A few quick keywords like “best restaurants near me” or “happy hour Dallas” would return a list of results and that was that. But today, people aren’t just searching like robots anymore. With AI tools like ChatGPT, they’re searching more like actual humans, and that changes everything. Instead of typing in three stiff words, a potential guest might say, “I’m looking for a restaurant with dim lighting, Mediterranean food, craft cocktails, and live jazz.” That’s not a keyword search, that’s a mood, a vibe, and a full experience wrapped into one. Here’s the game-changer: AI will scan the web for the businesses that most closely match that description. And if your website and social media aren’t telling that story, you risk being invisible in this new way of searching.
The businesses standing out right now are the ones giving as much detail as possible — the lighting, the music, the décor, the little touches that make your venue unique. Every menu item is listed, every cocktail is described. Websites that tell a story about what guests will actually experience are the ones that AI is pulling forward. You can think of it as the new SEO, and it’s less about cramming in keywords and more about painting a picture.
At Digital Planet, our agency tracks analytics for nearly 450 businesses in hospitality and beyond. One of the most surprising trends we’ve seen lately is that website traffic is going up for those businesses almost across the board. Why? Because people are asking AI for recommendations, and once they get them, they’re clicking through to check if your place really delivers the vibe they’re looking for. That means your website is no longer just a digital business card, it’s the first impression, the storytelling stage, the place where someone decides whether or not to book that reservation or walk through your doors.
This shift is happening fast, and it’s not limited to hospitality. But for restaurants, bars, and venues, it may be the most important. Hospitality has always been about creating experiences, and now your digital presence needs to capture that experience just as much as your physical space does. The better you describe it, the more visible you’ll be when someone types out their perfect night. And in an industry built on atmosphere, that could make all the difference between being passed over or being the place they’ve been searching for all along.