Local Experiences is the most volatile category tracked, with 70 of 22 tracked entities shifting position between the two checks.
Concentration
Best Food Experiences shows the widest gap between even distribution and reality: if mentions were spread evenly across all picks the top 3 would get about 21.4%, but they actually capture 38.1%.
Consistency
Hen of the Wood appears in the top 3 across five separate categories, including Best Restaurants, Best Fine-Dining Restaurants, Best Local or Traditional Restaurants, Best Restaurants for Couples, and Best Food Experiences.
Volatility
Best Hidden Gems and Best Winter Experiences both show heavy churn, with 65 and 58 entities moved respectively, well above categories like Best Luxury Hotels at 17.
Generated from this check's dataUpdated Sep 4, 2026
Lead finding
Despite 97% positive sentiment across 820 mentions, AI assistants consistently leave out Burlington's South End (South End Art Hop) from Vermont's story.
Vermont's AI narrative is anchored in farm-to-table dining, natural beauty, and outdoor activities, reinforced by supporting themes like craft beer, craft breweries, and culinary experiences. Sentiment is overwhelmingly positive at 97%, with almost no negative mentions among 820 rated references. Yet a clear ThemeGap stands out: Burlington's South End (South End Art Hop) is underrepresented despite this favorable backdrop. Vermont's distinctiveness score of 10% matches the network average exactly, while its confirmed-open rate of 78% trails the 80% network norm. Compounding the gap, Vermont earned zero recommendations or mentions across all 12 tracked indirect questions.
How AI sees Vermont
Across the prompts we've tracked, AI most consistently associates Vermont with:
farm-to-table
farm-to-table dining
Natural Beauty
Outdoor Activities
budget-friendly
craft beer
Craft Beverages
craft breweries
culinary experiences
family-friendly
fine dining
Food & Drink Experiences
How Vermont benchmarks
Confirmed-open rate
Vermont78%
Network average80%
Distinctiveness
Vermont10%
Network average10%
Presence rate
Vermont0%
Network average10%
Vermont's 10% distinctiveness score compares to the 10% network average, matching the network average in how distinctly AI assistants describe it.
Each metric shows two bars: Vermont's rate and the network average for that metric, so you can see how it compares. See how these scores are calculated.
Presence beyond Vermont-specific questions
How often Vermont comes up in regional and national AI questions that aren't specifically about it (out of 12 tracked questions, as of Oct 5, 2026):
0
Recommended
0
Mentioned
12
Not mentioned
See all questions
Two-Week Must-See Itinerary in the United States — DirectNot mentioned
Two-Week Must-See Itinerary in the United States — ConversationalNot mentioned
Two-Week Must-See Itinerary in the United States — RecommendationNot mentioned
Best Winter Destinations in the United States — DirectNot mentioned
Best Winter Destinations in the United States — ConversationalNot mentioned
Best Winter Destinations in the United States — RecommendationNot mentioned
Best Foodie Cities in the United States — DirectNot mentioned
Best Foodie Cities in the United States — ConversationalNot mentioned
Best Foodie Cities in the United States — RecommendationNot mentioned
Best Romantic Weekend Destinations in the United States — DirectNot mentioned
Best Romantic Weekend Destinations in the United States — ConversationalNot mentioned
Best Romantic Weekend Destinations in the United States — RecommendationNot mentioned
Where AI might be wrong
Michael’s on the Hill
— Best Restaurants for CouplesClosed
Flagged closed by 1 source, still recommended by GPT-4o and Perplexity Sonar.
Michael’s on the Hill in Waterbury Center, Vermont has closed its doors after over 20 years; owners announced they had ceased operations and the restaurant served its final meals on April 5.
President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site14 of 33
rank #2–#10
Vermont State House14 of 33
rank #1–#10
Hubbardton Battlefield State Historic Site13 of 33
rank #2–#14
Mount Independence State Historic Site13 of 33
rank #1–#8
Best Budget Hotels
31 answers
Stowe Motel & Snowdrift7 of 31
rank #1–#7
Econo Lodge6 of 31
rank #1–#6
Junction6 of 31
rank #2–#11
Killington5 of 31
rank #4–#7
Motel 6 Burlington - Colchester5 of 31
rank #1–#14
Best Western Plus Windjammer Inn4 of 31
rank #1–#7
Hampton Inn Burlington-Colchester4 of 31
rank #1–#3
Northern Lights Lodge4 of 31
rank #2–#4
Best Day Trips
31 answers
Stowe Recreation Path15 of 31
rank #1–#2
Woodstock Historic Village12 of 31
rank #2–#7
Montpelier and Barre11 of 31
rank #2–#7
Burlington Waterfront10 of 31
rank #1–#9
Quechee Gorge10 of 31
rank #2–#8
Shelburne Museum9 of 31
rank #2–#6
Champlain Islands7 of 31
rank #2–#7
Manchester7 of 31
rank #4–#9
Best Restaurants for Couples
31 answers
Hen of the Wood22 of 31
rank #1–#6
Simon Pearce Restaurant18 of 31
rank #1–#7
Michael’s on the Hill11 of 31
rank #2–#7
SoLo Farm & Table8 of 31
rank #4–#10
275 Main at The Pitcher Inn7 of 31
rank #2–#9
The Prince & The Pauper7 of 31
rank #2–#7
The Reluctant Panther Restaurant7 of 31
rank #2–#8
Leunig's Bistro & Café6 of 31
rank #1–#9
Best Boutique Hotels
30 answers
Hotel Vermont19 of 30
rank #1–#8
275 Main at The Pitcher Inn18 of 30
rank #1–#12
Twin Farms17 of 30
rank #1–#7
Edson Hill13 of 30
rank #1–#8
Field Guide Lodge13 of 30
rank #2–#8
Woodstock Inn & Resort9 of 30
rank #1–#9
1768 Hubbell House at The Grafton Inn8 of 30
rank #3–#8
Kimpton Taconic Hotel8 of 30
rank #4–#9
Best Family Hotels
30 answers
Trapp Family Lodge19 of 30
rank #1–#8
Smugglers' Notch Resort18 of 30
rank #1–#4
Woodstock Inn & Resort16 of 30
rank #1–#10
Jay Peak Resort12 of 30
rank #2–#5
Topnotch Resort Spa9 of 30
rank #1–#7
Basin Harbor8 of 30
rank #3–#7
The Essex, Vermont's Culinary Resort & Spa8 of 30
rank #2–#9
Killington7 of 30
rank #3–#8
Best Rainy-Day Attractions
30 answers
Shelburne Museum18 of 30
rank #1–#9
ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain16 of 30
rank #1–#7
Ben & Jerry's Factory Tour14 of 30
rank #1–#8
Vermont Teddy Bear Factory10 of 30
rank #2–#12
Vermont History Museum9 of 30
rank #2–#10
Bennington Battle Monument & Museum7 of 30
rank #3–#17
Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium7 of 30
rank #3–#15
Montshire Museum of Science6 of 30
rank #5–#11
Best Viewpoints
30 answers
Mount Mansfield20 of 30
rank #1–#11
Mount Philo State Park17 of 30
rank #1–#11
Camel’s Hump16 of 30
rank #1–#13
Smugglers' Notch State Park13 of 30
rank #2–#15
Quechee Gorge12 of 30
rank #4–#12
Hogback Mountain Overlook11 of 30
rank #1–#9
Killington11 of 30
rank #2–#12
Lake Willoughby and Mount Pisgah9 of 30
rank #4–#11
Best Winter Experiences
30 answers
Killington16 of 30
rank #1–#6
Trapp Family Lodge14 of 30
rank #2–#11
Jay Peak Pump House Indoor Waterpark12 of 30
rank #3–#5
Stowe Winter Carnival11 of 30
rank #7–#17
Sugarbush Farm11 of 30
rank #3–#4
Lake Morey10 of 30
rank #1–#11
Stowe Recreation Path10 of 30
rank #1–#16
Stowe Mountain Resort9 of 30
rank #1–#2
Where Perplexity's answers about Vermont come from
Perplexity cited vermontvacation.com,
Vermont's official tourism site, in
20 of 60 answers about Vermont
(33%, last 90 days).
The web domains Perplexity's live search pulled most while answering tracked travel questions about
Vermont (last 90 days). ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini aren't grounded in our tracking yet.
See the network-wide ranking.