In today’s fast-paced digital scene, restaurant presence cannot be limited to their geographical location. Or even their unique dishes. They need to have a strong online presence, including social media platforms, their website…etc. to attract customers and engage with them.
To decide where they’ll dine next, customers turn to search platforms like Google, online restaurant review sites, and social media. That’s why it’s become essential for restaurants and coffee shops to keep up with the latest tech and dining trends. Not only in the services and menu items they offer, but also in their unique online content.
Artificial intelligence (AI) tools, like ChatGPT, are emerging as powerful tools that help restaurants create professional, engaging, content quickly. Restaurants can use ChatGPT in their content marketing efforts. From creating a marketing strategy to writing content for social media, to creating catchy menu descriptions. You can also use ChatGPT to respond to reviews on review sites and create marketing campaigns.
In this article, we’ll show you how to use ChatGPT for restaurant content creation. From creating a content marketing strategy to creating social media content, to other types of content. We’ll also include templates and prompts to use on ChatGPT for better results.
Why is content marketing important for restaurant success?
Content is how you communicate with your customers. From attracting new customers to engaging loyal followers to improving your ranking on search engines, and more, content has become critical for your brand’s success.
Your restaurant’s content marketing strategy can also help you build customer retention by increasing customer engagement and building relationships. How you phrase your offerings and special discounts can also help you increase sales. You can also create behind-the-scenes content, educational content, and other types of content that creates an emotional connection with your customers.
Customers today are looking for connections and content is one way to do that. Consider combining a mouth-watering image or unique dish with a carefully crafted description that resonates with your customers. How well-written the content is will determine whether your customers engage with your posts and if they visit your restaurant or go to a competitor. Enticing, well-crafted content can be the reason a customer visits your restaurant for the first time and then several times afterwards.
It’s worth noting that your restaurant’s marketing strategy shouldn’t be limited to creating social media content. It should encompass your restaurant’s website or mobile app, your customer loyalty program, your restaurant’s email marketing strategy, SMS, and more.
Further reading: ChatGPT and Restaurant Management: The Perfect Duo!
ChatGPT: Crafting irresistible content for restaurants
Consider ChatGPT your smart, 24/7-available content writer. It can provide you with innovative ideas, even if you don’t have prior marketing experience. It can help you create content without having to turn to expensive content marketing agencies.
ChatGPT can help you improve your online presence by
- Creating attractive social media content that’s in line with the latest dining and food trends and that boost engagement.
Prompt example: Ask ChatGPT to ‘Create a content calendar for [Facebook/Instagram] for a/an [Italian/Lebanese/vegan] restaurant. The calendar should include [number] posts and cover the following products or services [add menu items you want to highlight or include].
- Creating email marketing campaigns for your restaurant. This can include creating a restaurant newsletter and marketing campaigns to attract new customers and retain current ones. This can also include promoting new restaurant menus.
Prompt example: ‘Create an email campaign for customers in [city name] to promote our new restaurant menu. Focus on the new menu additions [add menu items you want to promote].
- Suggesting blog ideas and content. ChatGPT can offer blog topics for your restaurant. it can also help you write those articles and optimize them for search engines for better ranking on Google.
Prompt example: I run a restaurant that specializes in [type of restaurant and food offer] in [city/country]. Suggest some ideas for a restaurant blog to increase website traffic and encourage customers to engage with our content.
- Creating catchy and mouth-watering menu descriptions for your food, beverages, and desserts to entice customers and encourage them to try unique dishes.
Prompt example: I run a/an [Lebanese/Italian/vegan] restaurant and I want to create a special menu for the [holiday/Christmas/Mother’s Day] season including unique dishes. Suggest some popular, traditional decisions for this occasion, especially those popular in [country/city] with a unique twist.
- Improving your restaurant reputation by answering customer reviews on review sites in a professional tone that reflects your brand identity.
Prompt example: Write a professional response to this customer review of our restaurant [add restaurant name]. Here’s what the customer said [add review.]
Create stunning restaurant visuals with ChatGPT
Words are no longer enough to convince customers to buy a product or visit a restaurant or coffee shop. Visual content is essential to catch your customers’ eyes and spur them to buy.
In this section, we’ll show you how to use ChatGPT to create content and transform your ideas into various content formats. We’ll also include prompts to simplify and speed up the content creation process.
Create AI-powered menu designs
Use prompts on ChatGPT to generate images for your restaurant. Describe each dish including colors, visual elements, and lighting to create an image and let ChatGPT generate some high-quality images.
Choose what suits you or make amendments then use the images in your menu or across mobile app delivery platforms to entice customers.
Prompt example: Ask ChatGPT to ‘Create a high-resolution image of a beef burger patty with melted cheese and a dark background. Add some dramatic light effects to give the impression of a luxurious experience.’
Design visual promotional offers
ChatGPT can turn your written ideas into impressive visual results. In your prompt, make sure to mention that this is for an advertisement. Determine where you’ll use the advertisement, including banners, in self-service kiosk screens, among others.
Prompt example: Create a creative, visual ad for a restaurant offering 20% off Sundays through Wednesdays between 1 pm and 4 pm. The ad must include savory dishes with a warm background and restaurant setting. Use warm colors like orange or beige, and make sure the font is clear and easy-to-read.
Create Instagram story templates
Ask ChatGPT to create design templates that are in line with your restaurant’s brand guidelines and to be used for Instagram Stories.
Prompt example: ‘Create a series of Instagram Story templates for a high-end restaurant using the following brand guidelines [Upload guidelines document or PDF].’ Mention the name of your restaurant, color codes, like #C19A6B for gold and #C2C2C2 for dark grey, and determine the font (if applicable).
You can add more ideas to refine the initial results, like asking for an Instagram reflecting a 20% discount from Sundays through Wednesdays and including a mouth-watering beef burger sandwich with melted cheese.
Seasonal and holiday marketing campaigns
Ask ChatGPT to create visuals for seasonal campaigns like a Ramadan campaign, Valentine’s Day campaign, among others. ChatGPT can provide ready templates to help you create visuals for every occasion, boosting customer engagement and connections.
Prompt example: ‘Help me create a seasonal marketing campaign featuring [3] short ads for [add seasonal campaign/occasion]. We’re offering [add offer] at our [restaurant type and name].’
Food menu designs for self-service kiosks
Use ChatGPT to create designs for your digital menu or self-service kiosks, noting that the designs aim to boost sales or promote certain dishes. These visuals should match the restaurant’s atmosphere and types of foods offered.
Prompt example: ‘Create an enticing menu description for [menu item] to be unveiled on [social media platform].
Best practices for using ChatGPT for restaurant content creation
To make the most of ChatGPT or any AI tool when creating content, make sure you consider the following best practices. The following tips help ensure quality content and visuals.
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Ensure clear instructions and prompts
To get the best results from ChatGPT and other GenAI tools, your prompts need to be detailed, clear, and precise.
This includes specifying
- the type of content needed (for example, a social media post, a blog outline, a blog post,…etc.)
- your target audience (young people aged 16-28)
- the location (Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Canada)
- the language (English, Arabic)
- the context (summer season, menu description)
- the desired tone of voice (fun, formal)
among other criteria.
Providing the above will yield better results, closer to what you have in mind. It’ll also be easier to refine the output.
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Use your brand’s tone and identity
Make sure your content reflects your restaurant or coffee shop brand’s personality. Be it modern, luxurious, playful, traditional, or a mixture of these. Provide ChatGPT with your restaurant’s brand guidelines, including colors, tone, and style, for it to automatically adhere to them.
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Always review and localize the content provided
You’ve entered a detailed prompt and gotten results you like, always review those results. Ensure accuracy, incorrect information,…etc. Make the necessary adjustments to adapt it to the cultural and linguistic context of your target audience. Although AI usually offers great content results, human review remains critical. AI may provide misleading results, inaccurate data, or build on old unrelated conversations.
Final words
Implementing an effective content marketing strategy remains a major hurdle for restaurant owners and marketers. The main reason? Executing the strategy successfully relies on continuously being ‘present’ and amid growing reliance on different types of content, especially catchy images and video content. Moreover, restaurant and coffee shop owners are often more focused on operations and management, so content creation becomes an afterthought.
This results in trying to creating content quickly without a strategy, leading to weak, ineffective content that misses the mark. But with the rise of generative AI tools, creating content isn’t as exhausting as it used to be. Tools like ChatGPT, Gemini 2.5 Pro, and others are making it easier for restaurants and coffee shops to create content that entices guests and that promotes brands effectively.
Got a restaurant, food truck, or coffee shop and want to create unique dining experiences? Try Foodics’ POS solutions. We’ll help you manage every aspect of your restaurant, from operations to employees to marketing and sales. Get in touch to learn more!
