Less than a decade ago, consumers relied on Yelp and Google reviews to dictate their dining choices, but now for younger generations social media has become more influential for restaurant recommendations.

Public relations agency Belle Communication has built Brilli, an influencer insights tool that surveys influencers on trends that they and their followers are seeing or want to see from restaurants and food operators.

Brilli surveyed 1,141 millennial and Gen Z followers of three food-focused social media content creators — Ashlee Sarai, Nicole Ludwig, and Sarah Margaret — about just how influential social media restaurant reviews are on their dining habits. As it turns out, the answer is, “quite a bit.”

According to the survey results, 73% of respondents said they visited a restaurant in the last three months because of a social media review they saw.

“A well-shot video or a good review from someone they follow just hits differently than reading a star rating online,” Sarai (@theashsarai) said. “I think people underestimate how much content creators shape where people eat. It’s not just about showing food anymore, it’s about building trust, setting the vibe, and making people feel like they’ll have a good experience too.”

Respondents were also asked about what would make them most likely to try a restaurant, and positive social media reviews far outranked the other options, with almost twice as many people saying social media (55%) over discounts (29%). Meanwhile, traditional customer drivers like LTOs and a rewards program were in distant third and last place.

“Since big chains push loyalty programs so much, I expected them to matter more, but it looks like people prefer quick discounts over long-term perks,” Sarah Margaret (@Sarahmargareteats) said. “Another surprise was the low interest in limited-time menu items, which shows that unless something goes viral, exclusivity alone won’t get people in the door. It seems like my audience values consistent quality and trusted recommendations over trendy, short-lived food fads.”

While social media reviews were by far more influential than any other source or driver for this group of young diners, social review sites like Google and Yelp still hold some sway. Though 43.7% of respondents said they go to social media for restaurant recommendations, 38.6% said they look to social review sites.

“Consumers often look to validate what they saw on social by searching for additional reviews, star ratings, and volume of feedback,” Belle Communication said about this result. “A single positive post on social can live under your restaurant’s name in search results for months — but the nature of social requires that positive reviews be repeatedly populated.”