AEO is the new SEO: How AI is rewriting the digital playbook

Carl returns from a July break with Bernadette Heier of Food on Demand to unpack five stories that signal where restaurant tech is heading next.

01:00 – Olo acquired by Thoma Bravo
• $2B all-cash deal
• A chance to reset outside the public markets
• Could this unlock faster innovation?

04:30 – OpenTable’s AI Concierge
• Built with OpenAI and Perplexity
• Answers 80% of diner questions
• Visibility now depends on how up-to-date your listing is

09:00 – Golden Corral’s Flybuy-powered pickup
• Off-premises rebrand: Golden Corral Favorites
• Flybuy tracks customer approach to time food perfectly
• Reflects the rise of drive-thru-style formats from legacy brands

12:05 – AEO: Answer Engine Optimization
• 70% of Google searches now end with no click
• Video builds audience—but not search visibility
• Q&A-style web content is the key to getting found by AI

18:20 – VenHub at LAX
• Automated grab-and-go using robotic arms
• $250K startup cost, $300M in preorders
• A new frontier in frictionless convenience

Transcript

TDR Jul 21 2025
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[00:00:00] Joining Carl this week is Bernadette hire managing editor at Food on Demand as they [00:00:05] discuss the huge takeover of Olo, a new kind of vending machine at LAX and [00:00:10] unpacking YAEO is now more important than SEO. That's all ahead on this [00:00:15] week's digital restaurant.



Carl: [00:00:20] Good morning. We're back. The digital restaurant had a little break. Yes. We were away for a couple of weeks, [00:00:25] July 4th. You know, I guess there just wasn't much news out there, but I come back with great news in the [00:00:30] sense that I have Bernadette back with me again. Guest hosting on the show.

Bernadette, how are you 

Bernadette: Doing? Great. [00:00:35] Thank you for having me back, Carl. 

Carl: Very pleased to have you back. I was just saying the the, the [00:00:40] listening numbers to the, your last appearance here are pretty impressive. So clearly you've got a fan group out there [00:00:45] that's love to listen to your take on everything that's going on.

And boy, have we had some stuff happening in this [00:00:50] space over the last few weeks. And let's get straight into it, if that's right with you, Bernadette, because [00:00:55] this is probably one of the biggest news stories of the year I mean, in many ways [00:01:00] featured in both of the books delivering the digital restaurant, Olo has been there all the way [00:01:05] through the digitization of this industry, and they've got acquired.

What [00:01:10] has happened? Tell us. 

Bernadette: Yeah, so big news in the restaurant tech space. [00:01:15] Olo has been acquired by investment firm, Toma Bravo, I believe [00:01:20] for a 2 billion all cash deal. So just, you know, a little chunk change. But this [00:01:25] is big news because Olo is. The, one of the leading one of the leading platforms for [00:01:30] restaurants looking to manage digital ordering payments, guest data, and [00:01:35] a company we're very familiar with at Food on Demand.

They work with many of the major brands out [00:01:40] there. But this is a big deal because, you know, Olo started about 20 years ago and has [00:01:45] continued to build. I believe it went public in 2021, but now under this [00:01:50] new deal, it'll be going private again.

But why does this matter? I think it really represents [00:01:55] the consolidation we keep seeing in the industry. We're seeing a lot of hospitality [00:02:00] focused tech firms being acquired lately. I think about DoorDash Bot [00:02:05] seven rooms reservations platform and symbiosis, AI platform. The [00:02:10] Access group has acquired patrons things like that keep happening.

I think it, you know, it [00:02:15] shows that all those transactions can expected to accelerate its growth plan [00:02:20] and strengthen its offerings for over 750 brands. But, but again, it [00:02:25] also shows that we're seeing more consolidation. Also just the importance of [00:02:30] restaurants being so digital focused and you know, a digital restaurant like this podcast.

[00:02:35] And I think investment firms continue to eye that. 

Carl: I agree. I'm really thrilled for, [00:02:40] for Noah and his team, because 

yeah, 

Carl: Noah, it's been a, been a real journey for them all. And [00:02:45] I think it's, it's not so much a retreat into private world, it's a reset. Right, right. In the sense [00:02:50] that I think this is gonna give them the freedom to invest in really what's next without always [00:02:55] need to justify every decision to the public market.

So that's gonna be helpful. The thing that [00:03:00] surprised me, Bernadette, from folks that was were reaching out, they were saying, who [00:03:05] the heck's this. Bravo company. It's like, where, where have they come from? [00:03:10] No, no one had heard of them before. But they're not just any private equity firm, right? They're one of the largest tech investors [00:03:15] in the world.

They've got something like $130 billion in assets and of course they specialize in [00:03:20] software mainly I think SaaS infrastructure and cybersecurity. But you know, the whole model [00:03:25] is to buy undervalued or under leverage companies and then help 'em streamline the ops and then invest in the [00:03:30] products and hopefully grow.

Accordingly. So I'm I'm excited to see what this means to [00:03:35] them. I, I think the challenge as ever with any organization that supports [00:03:40] some of the bigger enterprise restaurant brands out there is that they create and [00:03:45] ideate at the pace of their clients. And so therefore, in, in many ways, because [00:03:50] Olo was the lead in force in this regard, their own product innovation had to move at the pace [00:03:55] of where their clients were moving.

So this, I think, is actually quite an exciting shift because [00:04:00] no one out there sees the future better than Noah. You see the stuff that he puts [00:04:05] out on LinkedIn right now, he really sees the importance of holistic, interdependent technology, [00:04:10] something I'm a a big exponent of myself, and so I think with the right product focus, the [00:04:15] right margin discipline, this could be a real infrastructure platform for hospitality, [00:04:20] especially as we see more come around with AI and personalization and the whole omnichannel commerce [00:04:25] language that he uses all the time.



Bernadette: How does [00:04:30] OpenTable's AI concierge provide a glimpse of the future? 

Carl: Yeah, we don't [00:04:35] often talk about open tail that much, but they launched officially this new thing called AI [00:04:40] Concierge, which is a conversational chat bot designed to assist users in choosing [00:04:45] restaurants and understanding what to expect before they even arrive.

At the [00:04:50] restaurant. So it's available on both mobile and desktop. And it's built to act, I think, in, [00:04:55] in their words, they use this term a helpful in the no friend who's done all the homework. We've all got one of those, [00:05:00] right, that knows all the restaurants in town. Well now OpenTable have got a bot to help.

And it kind of [00:05:05] lives directly on the restaurant profile page. And it pulls from open table's [00:05:10] internal data set, like, descriptions, menus, reviews, and it synthesizes all of that [00:05:15] together using open AI and perplexities large language models. And so. You know, [00:05:20] what does it really do? I think to them, they said it, it answers something like 80% of diners' [00:05:25] questions, which is a pretty decent amount from, you know, what's on the menu to directions, to [00:05:30] what kind of vibe to expect When you're at the restaurant.

You can either recommend some dishes, assuming that the [00:05:35] the menu data is up to date, which is a big assumption, right? We know that not all menus out [00:05:40] there are always up to date, especially seasonal menus. And I think that's part of the kind of rob here, right? Is, is that. [00:05:45] This thing's only gonna be as good as the information it's trained on.

And their CTO [00:05:50] cigar meta said garbage in, garbage out. So there's a deeper layer I think on, [00:05:55] on all of this and that is when you look at OpenTable's research, they found out that over [00:06:00] 25% of diners abandoned a reservation because they can't find what [00:06:05] they need online. And perhaps even more talent is that 17% give up simply [00:06:10] 'cause they just don't want to make a call.

Diners expect digital tools to do the [00:06:15] work now. Right? They don't expect for them to have to really work hard for this. They want the digital [00:06:20] tools to do everything in the moment, and so OpenTable's. Clearly listening, you know, the concierge is, [00:06:25] it's more than a bot.

It, it's a, a kind of window, I think, into how discovery is evolving. And [00:06:30] we're, we're shifting from keyword search to conversational discovery. And that's something that's [00:06:35] really been happening across many platforms from Google's AI overviews to open AI's operator. [00:06:40] And now OpenTable is trying to, to meet that shift head on.

[00:06:45] But you know, there are some important guards, some things that kind of come to mind for me here. And that's things [00:06:50] like if you, I dunno whether you or anyone in your family have allergies or particular [00:06:55] nutritional concerns, and you've gotta think about how that plays into it now. [00:07:00] As I understand it, the AI today is gonna redirect users to check with the restaurant directly, which is [00:07:05] probably a, a smart legal movement.

I dunno whether the lawyers would've agreed with that, at least in this first [00:07:10] iteration. And so it's going to have to be mindful of that piece of it. It's also gonna have to [00:07:15] work closely with the operators, with the restaurants to catch inconsistencies, you know, for [00:07:20] example. If users keep asking about a dish that's no longer on the menu, [00:07:25] it signals that the operator needs to update their data in the same way that the AI becomes a, [00:07:30] a kind of feedback loop, not just for the diners, but also for the operators too.

You know, that's [00:07:35] typical digital management. So what does this mean for the restaurants listening to the show? [00:07:40] Well, first of all, if you are on OpenTable and your profile isn't up to date, your menus, your [00:07:45] hours, your photos, the, you know, that's gonna amplify those weaknesses. So you gotta treat [00:07:50] this as a new kind of digital front of house merchandising.

A way to think [00:07:55] that it's always on, it's always talking to your guests before they even arrive. The second [00:08:00] thing is that there's potential here, I think for deeper integration. Imagine. The bot not [00:08:05] just answering questions, but anticipating needs reminding you to book your anniversary [00:08:10] dinner, right, or a birthday or something like that.

Of course for customers, it's making decision making faster, it's making [00:08:15] it more intuitive and hopefully a a bit more delightful. So are you gonna use it? What do you think, you [00:08:20] think this is something that would lean into when you are looking for a restaurant or an open table? Would you check it out?[00:08:25] 

Bernadette: You know, I would, I actually love this, especially when I think about if we have a [00:08:30] group of friends going out to eat or for an occasion. These are questions you wonder, and we [00:08:35] are in the phase now with ai. And these chat bots or assistants that have a conversation with [00:08:40] them about what you're thinking about and it relates to answers.

And so [00:08:45] I think this is, something people would like, today's diners are very tech savvy and [00:08:50] oftentimes they want to know exactly what to order or what specific needs that they're gonna need or [00:08:55] have before they even step foot in the door. So I think this is a good move and we'll see how it [00:09:00] evolves.



Carl: Up next Golden Corral. I love Golden [00:09:05] Corral and especially Dawn over there. She's one of the superstars in this space. They're relaunching their [00:09:10] off premises offshoot with a new techno partner. So what is all the off premise offshoot and [00:09:15] what's the new tech partner? 

Bernadette: Yeah, so Golden Corral, another one of those legacy [00:09:20] brands.

Last year it modernized and opened up an off-premises fast casual [00:09:25] segment called Homeward Kitchen. And that really had smaller dining rooms drive [00:09:30] through pickup areas. But now they've rebranded it as Golden Corral [00:09:35] favorites just from a branding marketing's perspective but with a new tech partner fly by.

[00:09:40] And flybys platform uses location tracking to know when a guest is en [00:09:45] route as well as letting staff know when to prepare the orders just in time so food is [00:09:50] fresh and hot. But why this matters is this really isn't just about golden [00:09:55] corll. It reflects a bigger shift in seeing legacy brands update and modernized [00:10:00] for the digital guests, or, these more off-premises models.

And that obviously [00:10:05] involves your tech stack, but also opening these smaller formats that are more like a [00:10:10] Chipotle or I think about Perkins opened up their griddle and go format. So this is [00:10:15] something I'm eyeing and we cover a lot because we're seeing these brands switch up their [00:10:20] strategy.

But, also that comes with a lot of backend work. Not only [00:10:25] tech integrations, but also physical. So I think this is kinda reflects a [00:10:30] broader move we're seeing in the industry where legacy brands know they have to keep up. 

Carl: [00:10:35] Yeah, I agree. I, I love what flyby I've been working on for, for many years now, [00:10:40] and it really reflects this growth in pickup, right?

Yeah. And, and just the [00:10:45] idea of folks are just saying, look, I, I want to eat my, from my favorite restaurants, but [00:10:50] that delivery fee, the commission I'm having to pay to the third party, it's, it's getting in the way. And so, [00:10:55] you know what, actually I'll just, I'll save myself a little bit and do a pickup, and so therefore.

How [00:11:00] can we optimize the pickup experience to be something that's just more inviting and [00:11:05] certainly optimal in terms of the, the dish temperature? Well, this is really what they're talking [00:11:10] about here, right? To be able to ensure that the capability is that is so that the food is as fresh [00:11:15] as possible. Now, what that means for the kitchen and whether it can handle those

peaks and [00:11:20] troughs of activity in the moment, I think is a, a big question as well as well, right? Does that just [00:11:25] push a, a level of strain into the overall operation? What does this mean for delivery drivers [00:11:30] themselves, right? Because they might be going to drop certain things off, or they might be picking [00:11:35] up multiple orders from the same restaurant if it clearly seems like this is something specifically for [00:11:40] customers and pickup themselves, not for delivery drivers.

So are they? Losing some [00:11:45] opportunity on that side maybe. But at least they're thinking about how to treat their [00:11:50] off-premise customer better. And that's the thing I've always been talking about in the show is just how do we [00:11:55] think about the off-premise channel with the same white cotton gloves as we do for the on-premise [00:12:00] channel?



Bernadette: Alright. What is a [00:12:05] EO and why should every restaurant be aware? 

Carl: A EO Well, [00:12:10] I'll explain that one to you in a moment if you've not heard of that acronym before, because [00:12:15] I think this is one of the most confusing, maybe arguably, critical marketing shifts happening [00:12:20] right now in the restaurant world. AI driven search and the new rules [00:12:25] of discoverability, you know, for the, the best part of two decades.

We've all [00:12:30] been told the same thing. You've gotta optimize for SEO. Search engine optimization, [00:12:35] right? Use the right keywords, keep your site up to date, and Google is gonna reward you with all this [00:12:40] visibility, maybe even some conversions. But of course, now what's happening is the whole playbook [00:12:45] is being rewritten.

And I'm sure you've experienced this yourself, Bernadette, [00:12:50] when you are on Google, because last year they launched this thing called AI [00:12:55] Overviews, which is a feature that is appearing in over 55% of all search results. So it's [00:13:00] huge now. And instead of the traditional list of clickable links, [00:13:05] Google's AI is now delivering a synthesized answer at the top of every page.[00:13:10] 

And the article that that Joe put out here on this one kind of says like, if someone was to [00:13:15] search for what's a good vegan Thai restaurant in Milwaukee, they might get a three [00:13:20] paragraph blurb from various different websites, maybe with just one or two links included, if [00:13:25] any. And the example, I think that was cited was a restaurant that got top billing.

But no [00:13:30] direct website link. Meanwhile, another business got lumped in despite not serving Thai food [00:13:35] at all, just because it was vegan, right? So welcome to the complicated [00:13:40] world of , answer engine optimization. So a EO answer engine optimization. [00:13:45] And I think this is the new battleground for digital visibility, but this is where it gets trickier.[00:13:50] 

According to SimilarWeb, almost 70% of searches now [00:13:55] end without a click. 70% of searches end without a click, so no one's [00:14:00] visiting your site. They're reading the AI blurb and then moving on. So that's the first big shift. [00:14:05] The second is this surge in how people are using chat bots and [00:14:10] generative ai like chat GBT.

And the same kind of quirks are happening over the last [00:14:15] 18 months alone. News related searches through chat GBT have jumped [00:14:20] 212%. So if you're a restaurant that's trying to stay visible [00:14:25] online, the question becomes, how do I show up in a world where nobody clicks anymore? [00:14:30] So a lot of marketers, especially those working with fast growing [00:14:35] brands, are saying, forget Google.

Go all in on video. And there's a bit of [00:14:40] truth in that. You know, you've got TikTok reels, YouTube shorts, they're all commanding consumer attention in a [00:14:45] massive way. 41%. Of TikTok users use TikTok as the search engine, [00:14:50] and then you've got 90% of all web content now being video.

And so you've [00:14:55] got brands like Crumble and Dave's hot Chicken. That are really leaning into video as a way [00:15:00] of being able to move from niche concepts to national concepts and using video as a main means of [00:15:05] being able to transport their brand into the eyes. And the video watching audience, you've [00:15:10] got who is it?

Chili's. And they're they went viral, the Triple Dipper platter. That [00:15:15] helps, some of their stores see something like up to 30% of growth year on year. [00:15:20] But here's the problem. And the article doesn't really lean into this. [00:15:25] Video is fantastic. We record the podcast on video for a reason, right?

It helps [00:15:30] with the connection. It helps with brand awareness, it helps with storytelling, emotional engagement, [00:15:35] but it's not yet a primary input for AI generated search. [00:15:40] Things that might be used by Google or chat GPTs answers, right? And [00:15:45] while AI models can transcribe your videos. There [00:15:50] aren't many being used from a search perspective.

Right? So in this sense, [00:15:55] your video might have some really interesting information about a new LTO or a new item on [00:16:00] the menu. If you've just launched that on video and thinking that the AI is gonna pick [00:16:05] up on that in the search, you're gonna be mistaken unless you've got captions and [00:16:10] transcripts, the appropriate way of being able to feed this data in to the engine.

Video is an [00:16:15] additive step, not, not a replacement. Yeah. Structured q and a style website content [00:16:20] is still the primary source for these AI answers. And Michelle Abdo, who's [00:16:25] quoted in the article, she's a, a president of a marketing agency. She's been [00:16:30] leaning really hard into this because she says, look, if you wanna be found by ai, you need to be [00:16:35] writing content that sounds like

almost like a q and a that your customers are actually [00:16:40] asking and answer them clearly. So instead of just saying We serve [00:16:45] vegan Thai dishes, your website should include something like, question, [00:16:50] what makes your Thai food vegan? A we use coconut milk, tofu based proteins and avoid [00:16:55] fish.

So in our curries, you know that that kind of answer ready format is what's gonna get picked up by [00:17:00] these AI models. Not necessarily the video clips. . Not even your most viral Instagram reel, right? [00:17:05] That's the reality check here. So if you're relying only on video to drive discovery, you're [00:17:10] building an audience.

Yes. And that's great and you should keep doing it, but you're not building AI visibility. And [00:17:15] those two things are are divergent. So embrace video, but challenge it strategically. [00:17:20] Structure your website content for ai. Think about that q and a format, and don't make that [00:17:25] decision between the two because they're both really important.



Bernadette: Yeah. I'm really glad you brought this up and I think you really hit [00:17:30] it on the nail, the, the best direction to go with that. You know, video's important, but you can't forget about [00:17:35] your search. And now it's AI search optimization, which is so interesting. And [00:17:40] something I hear from my friends in marketing, including our marketing folks at Food on Demand, is the stress [00:17:45] they go through with the AI summaries that summarize articles.

Now when you do a Google search [00:17:50] or you know, summarize your questions. People aren't scrolling and clicking anymore, and it's no longer [00:17:55] about clicks. It's discoverability, as you said. So I think it, it signals a [00:18:00] bigger ecosystem trend where online is how you show up, where you show up, [00:18:05] and how you can be discovered is so important for a restaurant.

You know, social media is important, [00:18:10] but with the rise of ai, it's. I think that's fascinating advice on how to be found through that. So [00:18:15] I would definitely keep note on, on this if you're a restaurant.

[00:18:20] 

Carl: Last, not this week. This one really caught my attention. Ven Hub, who I hadn't heard [00:18:25] of before.

They're kind of branching into automation in a way that sounds pretty [00:18:30] different. What's your take on. 

Bernadette: Yeah, so this came across my desk and I wrote an [00:18:35] article on vent Hub. And it's essentially these automated smart [00:18:40] stores kind of like a glorified vending machine, if you will.

But much more smart than that. [00:18:45] So what these are is, they are areas. For high convenience spots [00:18:50] like airports, transit centers or underserved neighborhoods, and it allows [00:18:55] a 24 7 access to food. This particular model isn't hot [00:19:00] food, but say you're going to an airport, this one's live at LAX you can actually pull [00:19:05] up your app, order what you want and when you're about 10 or 20.

Feet away. [00:19:10] It'll have your order ready for you in a pickup box because of these robotic [00:19:15] arms that are preparing your order for you. And so, you know, the pull point is to be able to [00:19:20] offer this 24 7 fast. Grab and go store where you can grab [00:19:25] your items quickly. The CEOI spoke to said startup costs are around [00:19:30] $250,000 per unit. And he claims that they've already amassed over 300 [00:19:35] million in pre-orders. So what he's saying is that because of the small overhead to [00:19:40] get these started and how fast you can have them pop up, people are very interested in [00:19:45] this.

Especially for areas like airports where you don't need to go in and. Speak with anyone or [00:19:50] have a traditional sit down experience. This matters in our industry because [00:19:55] I'm seeing this pop up more often. I think about pizza. Forno is an [00:20:00] autonomous pizza vending hub machine. Donatos just partnered with Arons [00:20:05] for a similar model, and these are hot food where Ben Hub isn't.

So I think we're [00:20:10] seeing this more often and even some chains are getting into it and it's just for a quick pickup. Why not? We [00:20:15] embrace technology and do it if you're not looking for that sit down experience.

So [00:20:20] certainly something we're seeing in the robotic space. 

Carl: Mm. It is interesting [00:20:25] how more and more of this proximity sensing capability is coming into [00:20:30] all, all sorts of areas and it's, it just drives the attention back [00:20:35] to this idea of the customer wants what they want or they want it now, right?

They don't wanna have to [00:20:40] wait. And so if you can create a level of capability that allows you to be able to [00:20:45] get whatever they're servicing in these kind of vending machines. Which I'm guessing know, drinks. And [00:20:50] in somewhere like LAX where you run into a flight somewhere, the idea of having [00:20:55] to wait is a challenge.

If you can pay via your phone and you can [00:21:00] walk up and get it, that's even more seamless than some of these self-service [00:21:05] checkouts, right? Where sometimes you're having to wait behind someone else to be able to get to the checkout, you know, which in [00:21:10] itself was. A big step forward. But the idea of the fulfillment being done as you [00:21:15] arrive and it's an easier just picking it up.

It's almost a bit like the just walkout capabilities [00:21:20] that the Amazon we're working through. So, fascinating stuff, huh? Okay. Well now [00:21:25] that I know LAX next time I'm flying outta that, I'll have to go and check out. Of the Ben hubs [00:21:30] and maybe provide some kind of live report on that one. It, 

Bernadette: yes, please do some on the ground [00:21:35] reporting for me and report back.

Carl: There you go. There you go. Good stuff. All right, well [00:21:40] look we got through that in super good time. Look at that. We're professionals, aren't we? If you've got any [00:21:45] views as to what you think about this week's stories a EO, is that something you are aware [00:21:50] of? Are you gonna do something about it?

How much are you embracing video? And what about all of this [00:21:55] proximity sensing capabilities in your kitchens? Is that something that you're gonna follow Golden corral's [00:22:00] lead on? Or maybe even build in one of these AI enabled vending machines [00:22:05] on the outside just to drive some extra revenue?

It's all about that these days after all. But listen, until next time, [00:22:10] leave your comments below. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you then. Take care.

The Digital Restaurant [00:22:15] Podcast is available for you to follow and subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts. [00:22:20] Watch us, rate us and subscribe to the digital restaurant on YouTube and follow [00:22:25] along on all our social media digital restaurant channels. Thanks for [00:22:30] listening.