AI Travel Oddity

Ask Claude where to eat in Thompson and you get no names

Says nothing specificClaude Sonnet 5Thompson

Answers come from each provider's API model, not their consumer apps.

Observed on October 1, 2026 · Verified by a human on October 3, 2026

What the AI said

The question: “I'm visiting Thompson, Manitoba soon. Which restaurants should I absolutely not miss?”

I don't have reliable, up-to-date information about specific restaurants in Thompson, Manitoba that I could confidently recommend.

— Claude Sonnet 5

Perplexity names roughly ten real Thompson restaurants for the same questions.

Zero visibility for a destination's restaurants; a recurring Claude pattern for small places.

Two AIs still send families to a zoo that closed in 2012
Closed or renamedGPT-4oClaude Sonnet 5ThompsonObserved Oct 1, 2026
Recommended as a family attraction in 7 answers across 4 questions.
Gemini can't agree with itself on who Thompson is named after
Factual errorGemini 3.6 FlashThompsonObserved Oct 1, 2026
Gemini says Thompson is named after explorer David Thompson; in another answer it says both David Thompson and John F. Thompson.
Gemini keeps moving Thompson's giant wolf mural
Models disagreeGemini 3.6 FlashThompsonObserved Oct 1, 2026
Across different answers, Gemini places the mural on a grain silo, on a water tower near the Vale Inco greenhouse, and on a 10-story 'Vale high-rise', calling it 'The Batoche Mural'.

Perplexity moves Edmonton's top restaurant to Calgary
Wrong placePerplexity SonarAlbertaObserved Oct 2, 2026
Listed under Calgary
GPT books families into a Vegas hotel that closed in 2024
Closed or renamedGPT-4oLas VegasObserved Oct 4, 2026
Recommended as a top family hotel with volcano show and Dolphin Habitat
Gemini declares Ottawa's famous jail hostel closed. It isn't
Models disagreeGPT-4oClaude Sonnet 5Gemini 3.6 FlashPerplexity SonarOttawaObserved Oct 5, 2026
Gemini: closed permanently 2023; Claude: HI Ottawa Jail Hostel; GPT: Ottawa Jail Hostel (no brand); Perplexity: Saintlo (correct)