Cafes

When they ask AI which cafe to work from

People ask which cafe opens before work, which one will not glare at a laptop, and which one still has a table at 8. The answer is a name plus a reason. If your hours and seating rules are vague, another cafe gets the sentence.

Morning questions are practical

The ask is rarely best coffee near me and nothing else. It is open at 6:30, parking on that block, a pastry case that is real, oat milk, a restroom for customers, and whether a meeting of three will be asked to leave. Parents ask about strollers. Students ask about outlets and how long a seat is welcome. Tourists ask what is walkable from the hotel. Those are different cafes, and an assistant will not invent the difference.

Write the rules you already enforce

Publish open and close times for every day, including the days you open late. Say if the kitchen or the pastry case stops before the doors lock. State the laptop policy in one sentence so regulars and visitors hear the same rule. Note outdoor seats, dog rules, and whether you are counter service. If you roast, bake, or only pour, say which. A cafe that is quiet after 2 and a cafe that is a stroller rush at 9 should not share the same empty description.

Match the profile to the door

The Google profile, the website, and the directories should show the same address, the same phone, and the same Sunday hours. A cafe that moved two doors down and left the old pin up will be recommended to people who then cannot find the door. Photos of the actual room beat a stock cup. Reviews that mention the morning rush or the back table give an assistant a detail it can use.

The record has to survive next month

Seasonal hours, a new food menu, a day you close for a private event. Sigma keeps the public facts in agreement so ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Google have a cafe they can name. Start with citations at $99 a month or the $249 a month answer work. Lead generation and advertising stay separate at $5,000 a month each.

What the morning shift would tell a stranger

A cafe recommendation fails on small rules. Write whether laptops are welcome all day, only before the lunch rush, or not at all. Say if a meeting of three will be asked to move. Note the hour the pastry case is usually gone, and whether breakfast sandwiches stop before the doors lock. Oat milk, a real restroom, outdoor seats, and a dog rule are yes-or-no facts. If parking is a lot behind the shop or street parking only, say which. Counter service should be obvious. If you roast, bake in house, or only pour, pick the true one. A student looking for a three-hour seat and a parent with a stroller at 9 are asking for different rooms. Publish both truths. When you close for a private event, change the profile that morning, not after the disappointed reviews.