How AI agents in restaurants are transforming hospitality

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Picture a buzzing restaurant on a Friday night. The phone rings nonstop with reservation requests, a party of 10 walks in and needs to be seated, and the staff is stretched thin due to labor shortages. This is a common story—but things are beginning to look brighter with the adoption of AI agents in restaurants.

Necessity is the mother of invention, and automating tasks wherever possible relieves staffing burdens, streamlines restaurant operations, and helps improve the customer experience. The AI tools restaurants are flocking to aren’t the robots of science fiction, but rather autonomous software assistants designed to handle tasks with speed and precision. They’re already proving their worth in the restaurant space, and their roles are only set to expand.

Crucially, these agentic AI tools don’t replace the human touch of hospitality. Instead, they amplify it, allowing staff to focus on what they do best: creating a memorable guest experience.

Let’s look at some of the AI tools growing in popularity, how they can fit into a restaurant’s operations, and how they can take service up a notch.

What’s driving the rise of AI agents in restaurants?

Simply put, AI agents in restaurants are making inroads out of sheer necessity. The restaurant industry has faced significant hurdles since the pandemic, including frequent understaffing from labor shortages and customers preferring takeout over dine in.

With fewer hands on deck, managers need technology to fill the gaps. Automation used to be a luxury, but now it’s a necessity as restaurants seek to maintain a positive dining experience without burning out their staff.

Automating repetitive tasks leaves staff to focus on the human side of guest-facing roles like empathy and creativity, which machines can’t replicate. The result is a harmonious blend of tech and human effort, where AI enhances the personal connection that makes a dining experience great.

How restaurants are using AI agents today

AI agents are already transforming restaurants by tackling a number of operational, often mundane tasks. The use cases below illustrate how AI restaurant technology is making a real impact.

Automated phone answering

One example of AI agents in restaurants that’s growing in popularity is automated phone answering. These voice assistants operate 24/7 to answer customer questions, take reservations, and filter out spam. Plus, the AI agent’s natural-sounding voice options feel approachable and nothing like a machine.

Yelp Host is an AI answering service that can be set up in just 10 minutes. It pulls hours, menu items, and other key details directly from the platform, ensuring instant, accurate responses without requiring extensive training.

With an AI phone agent, no call goes unanswered, even during the busiest shifts or when the business is closed. For staff, this means no more interruptions from phone duties, allowing them to focus on the customers right in front of them.

Guest communication and personalization

Beyond phone interactions, AI agents excel in guest communication and personalization. These systems power chatbots and messaging platforms to send tailored followups, accurate wait times, and feedback requests via SMS, email, or mobile apps.

Yelp Guest Manager sends automated guest surveys via text message, for example, and parses the data to be entered directly into the system. There’s no extra work for staff, and valuable information is gleaned right from the source.

In addition, customers on waitlists or with reservations get automated updates, and two-way communication ensures customers can provide specific requests for their dining experience.

Staff scheduling

Staffing challenges are a top concern for any restaurant manager, and AI systems are stepping in to optimize scheduling. They analyze factors like historical data, weather forecasts, and local events to generate optimized shift schedules.

Restaurant AI tools like Lineup.ai predict hourly staffing needs and let employees swap shifts with ease, while 7shifts syncs with payroll systems for real-time adjustments depending on the time of day.

For managers, this can be a welcome relief. The automation eliminates the time spent on manual scheduling. It also helps balance workloads more evenly, addressing a key driver of staff turnover—either being overworked or not getting enough hours, leading to burnout or low wages respectively.

Critically, automated staffing ensures coverage during peak hours, meaning no more stretched-thin front-of-house (FOH) or overwhelmed back-of-house (BOH) staff. With AI handling the number-crunching and logistics, managers can spend more time training and mentoring, leading to a more skilled and motivated team.

Inventory management

Another critical area where artificial intelligence agents are proving their worth is in inventory management. These systems track stock levels in real time while predicting demand based on dining trends and upcoming reservations.

One really cool feature is they can automate order management to prevent overstocking or shortages. Human error can lead to over or under ordering, which can result in food waste, higher-than-necessary food costs, or unavailable menu items.

Kitchen staff benefit from this efficiency, as they’ll no longer need to manually track inventory via clipboards or manual input. This frees them up to focus on food preparation and quality control, directly impacting the guest experience and hopefully leading to rave reviews about what matters most: the food.

Check-in kiosks

Check-in kiosks represent another growing frontier for AI in restaurants, improving both guest convenience and operational flow. These kiosks, equipped with AI-driven interfaces, allow guests to check in for a reservation upon arrival.

The new technology updates waitlists in real time, reducing the burden for hosts during peak hours.

Take Yelp Kiosk, for instance. Customers can check themselves in and make special requests like a high chair or patio seating. If there’s a waitlist, Kiosk syncs with Yelp Guest Manager to accurately quote wait times and minimize questions and confusion, especially in busy restaurants.

For customers, these kiosks offer a modern, self-service experience that can feel empowering, while staff get the freedom to focus on service rather than tedious workflows like managing lines or fielding countless questions.

Level up your tech stack with Yelp Host

The use of AI agents in restaurants improves efficiency, reduces operational strain, and keeps service smooth—all while preserving the human heart of restaurant hospitality. Some of the ways you can embrace AI in your business include:

• Voice AI systems
• Guest communication
• Staff scheduling
• Inventory management
• Check-in kiosks

If you aren’t using AI tools yet, give it a try with a free 30-day trial of Yelp Host. It’s a low-risk way to experience its benefits firsthand. With its easy 10-minute setup, there’s no steep learning curve or lengthy onboarding. Plus, the voice customization options let you match your brand’s voice, whether you’re going for warm and friendly or professional and efficient.

Want to see how it works? Give us a shout for a free demo, and we’ll show you the ropes—and just how easy it is to learn.