AI Visibility Research
74% of caterers are invisible to AI. Event catering queries need per-head pricing, menu options, and event type specialisms. AI defaults to platforms like Bark and Poptop unless individual caterers publish this information.
Check your business74%
Invisible to ChatGPT
catering companies
Thousands
Businesses analysed
26%
AI-visible
Can be found by AI assistants
2-4 weeks
Time to fix
With structured data + directories
The test
ChatGPT recommends Bark and Poptop for catering. Only 26% cite individual caterers.
Each AI system uses different data sources and citation patterns.
Source: Bing index
ChatGPT recommends Bark and Poptop for catering. Only 26% cite individual caterers.
Source: Live web crawl
Perplexity cites caterers 35% from event platform profiles.
Source: Google index + Maps
Google AI shows Bark, Poptop, and Google Maps results.
Caterers businesses face specific challenges that prevent AI assistants from finding and recommending them.
Pricing is always 'bespoke' or 'enquire for a quote' — AI needs visible per-head ranges.
Event types (wedding, corporate, private, BBQ, afternoon tea) aren't on separate pages.
Menu options aren't published in text format.
Dietary accommodation (vegan, halal, kosher, gluten-free) isn't structured.
What the visible businesses do differently
Per-head pricing by event type and menu tier • Event-specific pages with menus • Bark and Poptop profiles with reviews • Dietary options clearly listed
Schema types that matter: FoodEstablishment, CateringService, LocalBusiness, Service
Canapes from £8pp, buffet from £18pp, 3-course from £35pp, wedding breakfast from £55pp.
Wedding catering, corporate events, private parties, BBQ, afternoon tea. Each with menu options and pricing.
These platforms are what AI cites for catering queries.
Full menu descriptions, not PDF downloads. Include dietary options per dish.
Include cuisine types, service area, event capacity, and dietary accommodations.
Only about 26% of catering companies are visible to ChatGPT. The rest are invisible because they lack the structured data, directory presence, and content that AI assistants need to make recommendations. Our research shows that ChatGPT relies on Bing's index for 87% of its citations.
Most catering companies can achieve basic AI visibility within 2-4 weeks by adding structured data, claiming key directories, and submitting to Bing Webmaster Tools. Full optimisation (including review building and content creation) typically takes 2-3 months to show results.
Not directly. ChatGPT uses Bing's index, not Google's. However, the factors that help you rank on Google (structured data, quality content, reviews) also help on Bing. Our data shows that 87% of ChatGPT citations match Bing's top 10 results, while only 56% match Google's top 10.
It depends on the query. Google AI Overviews are strongest for local searches backed by Google Maps data. Perplexity crawls the web daily and often finds more niche results. ChatGPT relies on Bing's index and favours well-known directories.
catering companies should use FoodEstablishment, CateringService, LocalBusiness, Service schema types. The most impactful is adding your business details (name, address, phone, hours, services) in structured data that AI can read programmatically.
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