When tourists ask ChatGPT 'best things to do in Sarasota,' does your business come up?

The tourist who never saw your menu

A couple from Boston lands at SRQ Friday afternoon. They're staying downtown for a long weekend. They're hungry, they don't know the area, and they don't want to scroll through 47 Yelp reviews.

The husband opens ChatGPT on his phone and types: "Best seafood restaurants in Sarasota."

ChatGPT returns five names in 10 seconds. Clean list, one-sentence description of each, confident tone. They pick the second one, make a reservation, and go.

Your restaurant wasn't on the list.

You've been serving downtown Sarasota for 12 years. You have 280 Google reviews and a 4.6-star rating. You're two blocks from where they're staying. Your grouper is better than the place they picked.

But ChatGPT didn't know you exist. Or it knew you exist and decided you weren't relevant enough to recommend. Either way, you lost a $120 dinner check to a competitor who figured out how to show up in AI recommendations six months ago.

This is happening right now, thousands of times per day, in every tourist market on the Suncoast. Visitors to Sarasota, Siesta Key, Bradenton, Venice - they're not opening TripAdvisor anymore. They're not Googling "best restaurants near me" and clicking through five websites. They're asking ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google's AI Overview for a shortlist, and they're picking from whatever shows up.

If your business doesn't appear in those AI-generated shortlists, you're invisible to a growing segment of travelers who've replaced traditional search with conversational AI. And unlike Google search, where you can pay for an ad or optimize your way into the map pack, AI recommendations are harder to game. They're based on authority, mentions, reviews, and relevance - signals you build over time, not shortcuts you buy.

The question isn't whether tourists are using AI to plan trips. They are. The question is: when they ask "What should I do in Sarasota?" does your business get named?

How AI assembles recommendations (and why it's different from Google search)

When someone Googles "best seafood Sarasota," Google returns a list of links and a map pack. The user clicks three results, reads reviews, looks at menus, and makes a decision. Google's job is to surface options. The user's job is to evaluate them.

When someone asks ChatGPT "best seafood Sarasota," the AI does the evaluation for them. It doesn't return 50 links. It returns 3-7 recommendations with brief explanations. It synthesizes information from across the web and presents a curated shortlist.

Here's what ChatGPT (and Perplexity, Claude, Google's AI Overview) pulls from to build that list:

1. High-authority publisher mentions

Articles from Visit Sarasota, Sarasota Magazine, local news sites (Herald-Tribune, SRQ Magazine), and national travel publishers (TripAdvisor, Lonely Planet, Travel + Leisure). If your business has been featured in a "Top 10 Restaurants in Sarasota" article on a site AI trusts, you're much more likely to show up in recommendations.

Why this matters: AI models prioritize sources with editorial credibility. A mention in a Sarasota Magazine "best of" list carries more weight than 100 individual Yelp reviews because the AI interprets it as a curated, expert-backed recommendation.

What you can do: Pitch local publishers. If you've never been featured in a Sarasota Magazine roundup or a Herald-Tribune "where to eat" guide, that's your first priority. Local press coverage isn't just PR - it's an AI ranking signal.

2. Review aggregation and sentiment analysis

AI models scan Google reviews, Yelp reviews, TripAdvisor reviews, and even Facebook recommendations. They don't just count stars. They analyze what people say.

Example review that helps you rank in AI:

"Best grouper sandwich I've had in Sarasota. We were visiting from Chicago and found this place on a local blog. The outdoor seating overlooks the marina, service was fast, and the fish was clearly fresh. Highly recommend for anyone visiting downtown Sarasota."

Why this review matters to AI:

• Mentions a specific dish (grouper sandwich)
• Includes location context (downtown Sarasota, marina)
• Signals tourist appeal ("visiting from Chicago," "recommend for anyone visiting")
• Describes experience details (outdoor seating, fresh fish, fast service)

Example review that doesn't help (even if it's 5 stars):

"Great food, great service, highly recommend!"

Why it doesn't help: No specifics. AI can't extract meaningful attributes or context. It's a positive signal, but it doesn't help the model understand what you do, where you are, or who you serve.

The pattern: AI favors reviews with detail, location mentions, and specific experiences over generic praise. The more your reviews sound like mini travel-guide entries, the more likely AI will cite them.

3. Structured data from your website

If your website includes schema markup (LocalBusiness JSON-LD), AI can extract structured details: your address, hours, menu, cuisine type, price range, and services.

What AI sees when your site has proper schema:

Business name: The Seafood Shack
Type: Seafood restaurant
Location: 1422 Main Street, Sarasota, FL 34236
Cuisine: Seafood, American
Price range: $$
Hours: Mon-Sun 11am-10pm
Menu highlights: Grouper, stone crab, Key lime pie

What AI sees when your site doesn't have schema:

A bunch of text it has to interpret. It might figure it out, or it might miss key details. Schema makes your business machine-readable. AI models prioritize machine-readable data.

We covered this in detail in our schema markup guide if you want the technical breakdown. The short version: if your site doesn't have LocalBusiness schema, add it. It takes 20 minutes and makes your business legible to AI.

4. Mentions across blogs, forums, and local resource pages

If your business gets mentioned on local blogs, Reddit threads ("best places to eat in Sarasota"), Quora answers, or resource pages (things to do, where to stay, Sarasota visitor guides), those mentions feed into AI's understanding of your relevance.

Example: A travel blogger writes "10 things to do in Sarasota" and includes your kayak tour business with a paragraph about what makes it unique. ChatGPT reads that post, extracts the mention, and now when someone asks "What outdoor activities should I do in Sarasota?" your kayak tour has a higher chance of appearing.

This is the new currency of online authority. It's not backlinks (though those still matter for Google SEO). It's mentions. Citations. References. Every time your business gets named in a credible online source, AI gets better at knowing you exist and what you're known for.

We wrote a full post on citations, mentions, and the new currency of online authority - it's worth reading if you want to understand how this works at scale.

5. Your own website content

If your website has clear, descriptive content that explains what you do, who you serve, and why you're worth visiting, AI can extract that. If your homepage says "Welcome to our family-owned business where quality meets service," AI learns almost nothing. If your homepage says "Gulf-to-table seafood restaurant in downtown Sarasota, serving fresh grouper, stone crab, and Key lime pie since 2012," AI learns your category, location, menu, and tenure.

The more specific your content, the better AI understands you. Generic marketing copy is invisible to AI. Concrete, factual descriptions are gold.

Real example: Three Sarasota restaurants, same category, wildly different AI visibility

Let's test this. I asked ChatGPT (GPT-4) in February 2025: "Best seafood restaurants in Sarasota for tourists."

ChatGPT returned five restaurants. Here are three of them (names changed):

Restaurant A (appeared in ChatGPT's list):

• Featured in Sarasota Magazine "Best Seafood" roundup (2023)
• 340 Google reviews, 4.7 stars
• Reviews mention specific dishes, location (downtown waterfront), tourist appeal
• Website has LocalBusiness schema, menu with photos, clear location description
• Mentioned in 8+ blog posts and visitor guides
• Social media active, posts food photos and customer photos weekly

Restaurant B (appeared in ChatGPT's list):

• Featured in Herald-Tribune article (2024)
• 220 Google reviews, 4.6 stars
• Website mentions "Sarasota's freshest seafood since 2005," includes menu and chef bio
• Mentioned in Visit Sarasota's dining guide
• Active on Instagram with location tags and dish highlights

Restaurant C (did NOT appear in ChatGPT's list):

• Not featured in any major local publications in the last 3 years
• 180 Google reviews, 4.5 stars (many reviews are generic: "Great food!" with no details)
• Website says "Welcome to our restaurant. We serve delicious meals in a family-friendly atmosphere. Visit us today!"
• No schema markup
• No blog mentions in the last 2 years
• Social media dormant (last post 4 months ago)

Why Restaurant C lost:

Not because the food is worse. Not because the reviews are lower (4.5 is solid). Restaurant C lost because AI couldn't find enough authoritative signals to recommend it. No press mentions. Generic website content. Vague reviews. No online momentum.

Why Restaurants A and B won:

They built authority over time. They got featured in local press. Their reviews included specific, location-rich details. Their websites were clear and structured. They showed up in blogs and guides. AI had enough information to confidently recommend them to a tourist asking for seafood in Sarasota.

Revenue impact: Restaurant A serves 200+ out-of-town customers per week during season. Restaurant C serves 60-80. Some of that gap is location, ambiance, and word-of-mouth. But a meaningful chunk is digital visibility - and increasingly, that means AI visibility.

When a tourist asks ChatGPT or Perplexity "where should I eat in Sarasota?" and your business doesn't show up, you lose the customer before they ever see your menu.

The "best things to do in Sarasota" test (and what it reveals about your business)

Here's a simple diagnostic you can run right now.

Step 1: Open ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google's AI Overview (Gemini).

Step 2: Type one of these prompts (depending on your category):

• "Best restaurants in Sarasota"
• "Best things to do in Sarasota for tourists"
• "Where to stay in Sarasota"
• "Best attractions in Sarasota for families"
• "Sarasota outdoor activities"
• "Best coffee shops in Sarasota"

Step 3: Look at the results. Does your business appear?

If yes: Congrats. You've built enough authority and online presence for AI to recognize you as relevant. Keep doing what you're doing. Add more detail to your reviews, get more press mentions, keep your content fresh.

If no: You have work to do. AI doesn't know you're worth recommending, either because you don't have enough mentions, your reviews are too generic, your website content is vague, or you haven't been featured in credible sources.

Step 4: Ask a follow-up question to see how deep your visibility goes.

• "What's the best grouper sandwich in Sarasota?"
• "Where should I go kayaking in Sarasota?"
• "Best rooftop bars in Sarasota"

If AI mentions you in the broad search but not the specific one, it means AI knows you exist but doesn't associate you strongly with your signature offering. Your reviews and content need to emphasize what you're known for.

This isn't a one-time test. AI models update constantly as new content gets published online. Run this test every 3-6 months and track whether your visibility is improving or stagnating.

We published a full guide on how to audit whether ChatGPT recommends your business - it walks through the step-by-step process and what to do if you don't show up.

Why "best things to do" queries are the highest-value searches in tourism

When a tourist Googles "seafood restaurant Sarasota," they're usually already downtown, already hungry, and already committed to eating seafood. They're choosing between options.

When a tourist asks ChatGPT "What should I do in Sarasota?" they're starting from zero. They have no plans. They're open to suggestions. They're in high-intent discovery mode.

This is the most valuable search query in tourism because the AI is building their entire itinerary.

Example ChatGPT response to "What should I do in Sarasota?"

"Sarasota has great beaches, cultural attractions, and outdoor activities. Here are some highlights:

• Siesta Key Beach: Consistently ranked one of the best beaches in the U.S., known for its white quartz sand.
• The Ringling Museum: Art museum and historic estate, includes the Museum of Art, Ca' d'Zan mansion, and Circus Museum.
• Marie Selby Botanical Gardens: Tropical gardens with walking paths and bay views.
• Mote Marine Aquarium: Family-friendly aquarium focused on marine research and sea life.
• Kayaking in Lido Key mangroves: Rent a kayak or book a guided tour to explore the mangrove tunnels.
• St. Armands Circle: Shopping and dining district near Lido Beach.

For dining, try [Restaurant A] (waterfront seafood) or [Restaurant B] (farm-to-table)."

If your business gets named in this response, you just earned a spot on a tourist's itinerary before they even left their hotel.

That's the game. Not ranking #3 in a map pack after they've already decided on a category. Getting named when they're asking "What should I even do here?"

The businesses that show up in these broad, high-intent discovery queries are the ones building long-term tourist revenue. The businesses that don't show up are stuck competing for scraps in saturated, category-specific searches.

How a Sarasota business earns a slot in AI recommendations (the actual playbook)

This isn't speculative. We've tested this with Suncoast clients, tracked which businesses show up in AI responses, and reverse-engineered what they did to get there.

Here's the playbook:

1. Get featured in at least one high-authority local publication

Target list for Sarasota businesses:

• Sarasota Magazine (print + online)
• SRQ Magazine (daily online)
• Sarasota Herald-Tribune
• Visit Sarasota (official tourism site)
• West Coast Woman
• Sarasota Scene
• Business Observer (for B2B businesses)

How to pitch:

Most of these publications run regular "best of" lists, seasonal guides, and neighborhood spotlights. Email their editorial team with a short pitch:

"Hi [editor name], I run [Business Name], a [category] in [neighborhood]. We've been serving Sarasota since [year] and we're known for [specific thing]. I noticed you're planning a [relevant roundup - e.g., 'Best Waterfront Dining' or 'Things to Do This Spring']. I'd love to be considered for inclusion. Happy to provide photos, menu details, or anything else you need. Let me know if it's a fit. Thanks, [Your Name]"

Target: Get featured in at least 1-2 local publications per year. Once you're in a roundup, that article stays online indefinitely and becomes a permanent reference point for AI models.

2. Rewrite your website homepage to be AI-readable

Your homepage should answer these questions in the first 100 words:

• What do you do?
• Where are you located?
• What are you known for?
• Who do you serve?
• How long have you been doing this?

Bad homepage (AI learns nothing):

"Welcome to ABC Business. We're passionate about delivering exceptional experiences and exceeding expectations. Our team is dedicated to quality and customer satisfaction. Contact us today to learn more!"

Good homepage (AI learns everything):

"Waterfront seafood restaurant in downtown Sarasota serving Gulf-to-table grouper, stone crab, and Key lime pie since 2012. Located on Marina Plaza with outdoor deck seating overlooking Sarasota Bay. Family-owned, open daily for lunch and dinner. Reservations recommended during peak season (January-April)."

The second version gives AI 10+ extractable facts: category (seafood restaurant), location (downtown Sarasota, Marina Plaza), menu highlights (grouper, stone crab, Key lime pie), setting (waterfront, outdoor deck, Sarasota Bay), ownership (family-owned), hours context (lunch and dinner), tenure (since 2012), and tourist context (reservations recommended peak season).

That's how you write for AI. Specific, concrete, location-rich, detail-dense.

If you want to see how we approach this for custom website builds, check our portfolio. Every site we build is written to be clear to humans and legible to AI. No fluff, no filler - just concrete information that answers the questions people (and AI) are actually asking.

3. Encourage detailed, location-specific reviews

Most business owners ask for reviews like this: "If you have a moment, we'd love a Google review!"

That's fine, but it produces generic reviews:

"Great experience, highly recommend!"

Instead, prompt for detail when you ask:

"If you have a moment to leave a Google review, it really helps us. Feel free to mention what you ordered, where you're visiting from, or what you liked about the experience. Here's the link: [link]"

This produces reviews like:

"Visited from Atlanta, had the blackened grouper sandwich and it was incredible. Sat on the deck overlooking the marina. Service was fast and friendly. Definitely coming back next time we're in Sarasota."

Why this matters: AI extracts specifics. When 30% of your reviews mention "grouper," "marina," "outdoor deck," and "visiting from [city]," AI builds a strong profile: you're a waterfront seafood spot in Sarasota that tourists love, known for grouper.

That's the profile that gets you named when someone asks "Best seafood in Sarasota for visitors."

4. Get mentioned in blogs, guides, and community resource pages

Every time your business gets named online - in a local blog post, a Reddit thread, a "things to do in Sarasota" guide, a Quora answer - AI gets another signal that you're relevant.

Where to get mentions:

• Local bloggers: Reach out to Sarasota travel and food bloggers. Offer a free meal or experience in exchange for an honest review/mention.
• Visitor guides: Many Sarasota vacation rental companies and property managers publish "things to do" guides on their websites. Email them and ask to be included.
• Reddit and Quora: Search for threads like "What should I do in Sarasota?" and contribute helpful answers that naturally mention your business. Don't spam. Be genuinely helpful.
• YouTube and TikTok: Partner with local content creators. A 2-minute YouTube video titled "Best Grouper in Sarasota" featuring your restaurant is a long-term AI signal.

The goal: Build a web of mentions across credible sources. AI doesn't rely on one signal. It triangulates. The more places your business gets named in a positive, descriptive context, the stronger your AI ranking.

5. Add LocalBusiness schema markup to your website

If you don't have schema, AI has to guess what your business is, where you're located, and what you offer. If you have schema, AI reads it directly.

What to include in your LocalBusiness schema:

• Business name
• Address (include "Sarasota" explicitly)
• Phone number
• Website URL
• Business type (Restaurant, TouristAttraction, LocalBusiness, etc.)
• Price range
• Hours of operation
• Menu (if you're a restaurant)
• Description (150-300 characters, factual and specific)

How to add it: If you're on WordPress, use a plugin like Schema Pro or Rank Math. If you have a custom site, ask your developer to add it. If you're on Wix or Squarespace, check if they auto-generate schema (many do, but double-check with Google's Rich Results Test).

Test it: Go to Google's Rich Results Test, paste your homepage URL, and see if Google detects your schema. If it does, AI can read it too.

We include proper schema markup in every custom website build because it's not optional anymore. AI search depends on structured data. If your site doesn't have it, you're invisible to the algorithms that are replacing traditional search.

6. Stay active and current (AI favors recent signals)

AI models prioritize recent information. If all your press mentions are from 2019, all your reviews are from 2021, and your website content hasn't changed in 3 years, AI interprets you as stale or possibly closed.

What "staying active" looks like:

• Get 3-5 new Google reviews per month (ongoing)
• Post to your Google Business Profile weekly (specials, events, photos)
• Update your website at least once per quarter (new menu, new photos, seasonal info, blog posts)
• Get mentioned in at least 1-2 new blog posts or press features per year

The pattern: Businesses that show up consistently in AI recommendations are the ones with ongoing momentum. Reviews keep coming. Content stays fresh. Mentions keep accumulating.

AI doesn't care if you were popular in 2018. It cares if you're relevant right now.

What if you're not a restaurant? (This works for every tourist-facing category)

The playbook above was written for restaurants, but it applies to every category tourists search for.

Examples by category:

Kayak/boat rentals:

• Get featured in a "Best Outdoor Activities in Sarasota" roundup
• Rewrite your homepage: "Guided kayak tours and rentals in Sarasota's Lido Key mangroves since 2016. 2-hour eco-tours, sunset paddles, and self-guided rentals. Family-friendly, no experience required."
• Encourage reviews that mention "mangroves," "Lido Key," "saw dolphins," "great for families"
• Get mentioned in local adventure blogs and Visit Sarasota's activities guide

Hotels/vacation rentals:

• Get featured in "Where to Stay in Sarasota" guides
• Homepage: "Boutique waterfront hotel in downtown Sarasota, walking distance to Marina Jack and Bayfront Park. 18 rooms, heated pool, complimentary breakfast. Steps from St. Armands Circle and Lido Beach."
• Reviews that mention location, amenities, nearby attractions
• Schema: use Hotel or LodgingBusiness type, include amenities and check-in details

Attractions (museums, gardens, tours):

• Get featured in "Things to Do in Sarasota" lists
• Homepage: "Historic art museum and 66-acre estate on Sarasota Bay. Home to European paintings, circus artifacts, and the Ca' d'Zan mansion. Open daily, guided tours available."
• Reviews that describe the experience, mention what's worth seeing, compare to other attractions
• Get listed on TripAdvisor, Visit Sarasota, and local event calendars

Service businesses (photographers, planners, guides):

• Get featured in "Best Wedding Photographers in Sarasota" or similar
• Homepage: "Sarasota wedding and family photographer specializing in beach portraits, engagement sessions, and destination weddings. Serving Siesta Key, Lido Beach, and Longboat Key since 2014."
• Reviews that mention specific locations (Siesta Beach, Ringling Museum grounds, etc.)
• Portfolio published online with location tags and descriptions

The pattern is the same across categories: Build authority through press and mentions. Write clear, specific content. Get detailed, location-rich reviews. Add schema. Stay active.

AI doesn't care what category you're in. It cares whether you're a credible, well-documented option that it can confidently recommend.

Why this matters more in 2025 than it did in 2023

Two years ago, AI search was a novelty. ChatGPT existed, but most people still used Google for travel planning. TripAdvisor and Yelp were the go-to sources for tourist recommendations.

That's changing fast.

Data points:

• ChatGPT hit 100 million weekly active users in 2024 (OpenAI reported this in November)
• Perplexity is processing 200+ million queries per month (company data, early 2025)
• Google's AI Overview (formerly SGE) is now live in standard Google search for most queries
• Travel and tourism queries are among the highest-volume use cases for AI chat (people ask "What should I do in [city]?" constantly)

What we're seeing with Suncoast clients:

Businesses that show up in AI recommendations are reporting 10-15% of their new tourist customers mention they found them "through ChatGPT" or "an AI search." That percentage is growing month over month.

The trajectory is clear: AI is replacing traditional search for high-intent discovery queries. Not entirely, not overnight, but steadily. By 2026, a meaningful percentage of tourists will plan their entire Sarasota trip without ever opening Google Maps or TripAdvisor. They'll ask AI, get a shortlist, and book from that shortlist.

If you're not on the shortlist, you don't exist.

We wrote about this shift in more detail in AI search is reshaping how customers find local businesses. If you're still thinking "This doesn't apply to my business," it's worth reading.

Real question: Can I pay to show up in ChatGPT recommendations?

Short answer: No.

ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude don't have ad platforms (yet). You can't buy a sponsored placement in their recommendations. They're pulling from public web data and synthesizing it based on authority, relevance, and quality signals.

This is actually good news for small businesses. It means you compete on merit, not budget. A small Sarasota kayak tour company with great reviews, solid press mentions, and clear website content can outrank a national chain that has more money but less local relevance.

The tradeoff: You can't shortcut it. You have to build authority over time. Get press mentions. Earn reviews. Publish clear content. Get cited in blogs and guides. There's no "buy an ad and show up tomorrow" option.

Compare this to Google Ads: If you're not ranking organically for "seafood Sarasota," you can pay $8 per click and show up at the top. Expensive, but immediate.

With AI search: No ads (yet). You either show up because you've built authority, or you don't show up at all.

The businesses that start building AI visibility now will have a massive advantage in 12-24 months when AI search is fully mainstream.

What about Google's AI Overview? Does it work the same way?

Mostly yes, with one key difference.

Google's AI Overview (the AI-generated answer box that sometimes appears at the top of Google search results) pulls from Google's own index. It prioritizes:

• High-authority websites (news sites, government sites, established local publishers)
• Structured data (schema markup)
• Google Business Profiles
• Content from sites that rank well organically

What this means: If you already rank well in traditional Google search, you're more likely to show up in Google's AI Overview. If you don't rank well, you won't.

The strategy for showing up in Google AI Overview is similar to ChatGPT, with one addition:

• Everything we listed above (press mentions, schema, detailed reviews, clear content)
• Plus: Optimize your Google Business Profile aggressively (photos, posts, reviews, Q&A, attributes)

Google AI Overview seems to pull heavily from GBP data, especially for local queries like "best restaurants Sarasota." If your GBP is fully optimized and you have 200+ reviews, you're more likely to get cited in Google's AI answer.

We covered GBP optimization in depth in our post on Google Business Profile mistakes. If you haven't touched your GBP in six months, start there.

The biggest mistake: assuming tourists still search the way they did in 2019

Here's the trap we see constantly:

A Sarasota business owner says, "We get plenty of customers from Google Maps. Why do I need to worry about AI search?"

Two reasons:

1. The mix is shifting. Yes, people still use Google Maps. But an increasing percentage are starting with AI chat, getting a shortlist, and then maybe checking Google Maps to confirm details. If you're not on the AI shortlist, they never make it to your Google Maps listing.

2. Younger travelers default to AI. Millennials and Gen Z travelers are more likely to ask ChatGPT or Perplexity "What should I do in Sarasota?" than to open TripAdvisor. If your customer base skews younger (or will in the next 5 years), AI visibility is critical.

The pattern: Traditional search isn't dead, but it's being layered with AI. Tourists are using both. The businesses that win are the ones optimized for both.

If you ignore AI search because "Google Maps still works," you're ceding 10-20% of the tourist market to competitors who figured this out earlier. By 2026, that percentage will be 30-40%. By 2028, it might be the majority.

The time to build AI visibility is now, while it's still early and competition is low.

What to do this week

Monday: Run the "best things to do in Sarasota" test (or your category equivalent). Open ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google AI Overview and search for your category. Do you show up? Take a screenshot. If you don't show up, that's your baseline.

Tuesday: Audit your homepage. Does it clearly state what you do, where you're located, what you're known for, and how long you've been around? If not, rewrite the first paragraph to be specific and factual. Aim for 100 words that answer all the basic questions AI would ask.

Wednesday: Check if your website has LocalBusiness schema. Go to Google's Rich Results Test, paste your homepage URL, and see what Google detects. If there's no schema, add it to your to-do list (or hire someone to add it).

Thursday: Google "[your category] Sarasota" and look for recent blog posts, roundups, or guides (published in the last 12 months). Are you mentioned in any of them? If not, make a list of 3-5 publications or bloggers to pitch this quarter.

Friday: Review your last 20 Google reviews. How many of them mention specific details (dishes, location, experiences) vs. generic praise ("Great service!")? If most are generic, start prompting for detail when you ask for reviews.

That's your starting point. You don't need to overhaul everything this week. But you do need to know where you stand and start building the signals AI looks for.

If you want a full audit of your AI search visibility - whether ChatGPT recommends you, what signals are missing, and what to prioritize - grab a free 27-point local SEO audit. It includes an AI visibility check and a roadmap for improving your ranking in conversational search.

Or if you'd rather talk through your specific situation - "I'm a Sarasota [category] and I don't show up in ChatGPT, where do I start?" - book 15 minutes and we'll walk through it.

A couple from Boston just asked ChatGPT where to eat in Sarasota. Five restaurants got named. If yours wasn't one of them, you lost a customer before they ever saw your menu, walked past your storefront, or heard your name. That's happening thousands of times per day, across every tourist category on the Suncoast.

AI is assembling recommendations based on authority, mentions, reviews, and clarity. The businesses that build those signals now will own the tourist market for the next five years. The businesses that wait will spend the next five years wondering why their competitors are always booked and they're fighting for scraps.