How to get more customers to your restaurant in 2026
Updated By Akkrev
Three ways restaurants grow: be found by new diners where they now look, turn first visits into regulars, and give regulars reasons to return. With 2026 data.
Key points
- Restaurants grow in three ways: more first visits, more first-timers becoming regulars, and regulars coming back more often.
- Regulars carry the business. Toast data suggests just 7% of guests can drive up to 50% of order volume.
- New diners now ask AI as well as Google, and AI names only a handful of places. The top 10% of US restaurants took 74.5% of all AI visibility in Local Falcon's study.
- Being remembered matters more than points: 48% of diners say it's what makes them feel most valued.
- Any AI tool, 20256%
- Any AI tool, 202645%
- ChatGPT31%
- Google AI Mode23%
BrightLocal Local Consumer Review Survey 2026, 1,002 US adults.
To get more customers to your restaurant, grow in three ways: be found by new diners where they now look, turn first visits into regulars, and give regulars a reason to come back more often. Most restaurants focus on the first and underinvest in the other two, even though repeat guests bring in most of the money.
This guide is for restaurant owners and managers asking how to fill more tables, grow sales and build a base of regulars in 2026.
Where your revenue actually comes from
Toast and Resy’s Regulars Report 2026 put numbers on something most owners feel:
- 7% of guests can drive up to 50% of order volume (Toast transaction data, Q1 2026).
- 62% of diners keep a mental shortlist of two or three “home base” restaurants (survey of 1,500 US adults, April 2026).
- Regulars plan ahead: 83% of their visits on Resy were booked in advance, against 48% for other guests.
- Regulars spend and tip more: 34% say they spend more per check where they feel at home, and 77% say they tip more where they feel recognised.
So growth is less about a flood of new faces and more about getting the right new guests onto that shortlist. Every new diner is a possible regular.
Where new diners look in 2026
| Where | What the data says | What it decides |
|---|---|---|
| Friends and family | The oldest route, and still a big one | Whether people try you at all |
| Google search and Maps | Still the top source of local recommendations | Hours, menu, photos, directions |
| Review sites | 97% of consumers read reviews for local businesses | Whether you look safe to pick |
| AI assistants | 45% used AI for a local recommendation in the past year | Which 3 to 5 places get named |
| Your own social posts | Good for regulars, but reach goes up and down | Whether people remember you |
The review and AI figures come from BrightLocal’s 2026 survey of 1,002 US adults.
The fastest-growing line is AI. 31% of US consumers had used ChatGPT for a business recommendation and 23% Google’s AI Mode. DoorDash found 22% had used AI to help choose a restaurant.
Why AI answers matter for growth
When a diner asks ChatGPT “where should we go for a birthday dinner in Shoreditch?” or “best tacos near Union Square”, they don’t get a page of ten links. They get a few names, with reasons. Being one of those names puts you in front of a guest who is ready to book, and you pay nothing per cover.
Those names are concentrated. In Local Falcon’s study of US restaurants, the top 10% took 74.5% of all AI visibility. A small group of restaurants gets named again and again, while most are rarely mentioned. That gap is the opportunity. AI keeps drawing on the same reviews, listings and local guides, so the restaurants that are strong there keep getting named.
AI also answers questions Google never handled well: “somewhere quiet to talk”, “good for a group of 12”, “vegan options that aren’t an afterthought”. If you’re genuinely good at an occasion, there is now a channel that can say so in plain words. See how ChatGPT chooses restaurants and what the research says gets recommended.
Turn first visits into regulars
The Regulars Report found that loyalty is built on recognition more than rewards:
- 48% of diners say being remembered is what makes them feel most valued. Only 30% say they always get that at their favourite places.
- Guests in a Toast loyalty programme came back about four times as often as a standard walk-in.
- 86% of orders from restaurant email and 83% from text messages came from people who had already eaten there. Your guest list is a regulars channel, not an advertising channel.
- 43% of diners who stopped visiting a favourite place blamed a slow slide in food or service, not one bad night.
In practice: collect contact details when people book, invite them back for a new menu, an event or a quieter night, and keep standards steady. Regulars on Resy bought 46% more event tickets than other diners, so events are a natural reason to return.
How to get more reservations on slow nights
Pick a shift with empty tables and a clear reason for diners to come in, such as a Wednesday set menu or early dinner before a show. Put the dates, price and reservation link together on your site. Use this quiet-night plan to test the offer and measure covers.
Where to start
- Ask AI what a new diner would ask. Try three questions in ChatGPT and Google, using your area and the occasions you’re best at. Note who gets named and which sources are cited.
- Check your Google Business Profile. Are hours, menu link, photos and booking link current? AI and Maps both read it.
- Read your newest reviews. How recent is the latest one, and what do guests praise? AI assistants often sum up reviews when they explain a pick.
- Count how you reach past guests. How many emails or numbers do you have, and when did you last use them?
- Follow the booking link. From Google and from an AI answer, does the link go to your own booking page or a third party?
How to measure progress
Track reservation clicks and calls where you can. Check confirmed covers separately in your reservation system, and ask new diners how they found you to pick up visits that never touched your site. See how to measure AI search results and how to find AI referrals in Google Analytics.
Akkrev covers one part of this: whether AI assistants recommend you. Every week it asks ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Grok models the questions your guests ask, shows which restaurants get named and which sources decide it, and gives you a short list of website fixes. Good food, service and a guest list do the rest. See AI search optimisation for restaurants, or read why a business isn’t showing up in ChatGPT.
Questions
How do I get more customers to my restaurant?
Work on three things in order: be easy to find where new diners look (Google, Maps, review sites and AI assistants like ChatGPT), make the first visit easy to book and worth repeating, and stay in touch with people who have eaten with you. Most restaurant revenue comes from repeat guests, so the second and third steps usually pay back fastest.
How can I increase restaurant sales without discounting?
Grow visits rather than cutting prices. Get named for the specific occasions you're good at (Sunday lunch, a quiet date, a group dinner), recognise returning guests, and invite past guests back for events or new menus. Toast's 2026 survey found regulars spend more per check and tip more when they feel at home.
How do restaurants get regulars?
Consistency and recognition. In Toast's 2026 survey, 48% of diners said being remembered makes them feel most valued, and 43% of people who stopped visiting a favourite place left because standards slipped gradually. A loyalty programme helps when it fits how guests eat with you.
Does ChatGPT actually send customers to restaurants?
Yes, increasingly. BrightLocal found 31% of US consumers had used ChatGPT for a business recommendation, and DoorDash found 22% had used AI to help choose a restaurant. Many of those diners then book through Google, a booking app or by phone, so AI's role rarely shows up clearly in your website analytics.
What is the cheapest way to get more restaurant customers?
Look after the channels you don't pay per cover for: your Google Business Profile, your reviews, your own website and your list of past guests. These are also the sources AI assistants read when they decide which restaurants to recommend.