How to Increase Restaurant Sales with an AI Voice Bot

The restaurant industry is evolving fast, and AI is leading the charge. With staffing shortages and rising costs, automation is no longer a luxury, it’s a necessity. AI-powered phone ordering is helping restaurants eliminate missed calls, boost order sizes, and improve customer experiences.

But where do they start? 

Automation is nothing new. It enhances businesses in every industry and saves significant amounts of money when implemented correctly.

As labor costs increase there is a growing reliance for restaurants to adapt their businesses to the changing world. Technology is no longer a choice, it’s a requirement, and AI is the perfect place to start.

That begs the question, How can a restaurant takeout AI assistant help restaurants increase their sales?

In this article, we’ll discuss how AI can improve staffing efficiencies, reduce missed calls, and even upsell clients. AI doesn’t have to be an additional cost, it can be a revenue generator.

What problems can voice AI solve?

• Missed calls: If you don’t answer customer calls, you lose revenue. Customers probably won’t call back that night, if ever. An AI agent can answer 100% of calls at any hour of the day, even if it’s during the lunch rush or when the restaurant is closed.

• Inefficient order processes: Most restaurants only have one, maybe two phone lines. If multiple calls come in, you’re bound to miss orders. Not to mention the staff needs to be on their A-Game.

• Lack of upselling opportunities: No messing up the orders, let alone upselling the customers. Employees are just trying to stay above water. Voice bots can sell the customer which increases revenue.

• Limited staff: It’s hard to find good help these days. The help you do find can’t be attached to the phone all night. You need staff focused on in house guests. An AI voice bot for restaurants can eliminate a ringing phone altogether, whether it’s taking orders, tracking reservations, or just answering general questions.

• Poor customer experience: Customers have a high bar for service. They certainly don’t want to feel rushed when they’re ordering. But that is exactly what happens when an employee is on the phone with multiple calls coming in at once. Not to mention the fact that not answering the phone at all is an even worse customer experience. Voice bots can not only assure the phones are answered, but that the time is taken to answer questions and provide a concierge experience.

What exactly is an AI agent? 

Let’s start by what an AI agent is not, and that’s a phone tree. “Press 1 for the host, press 2 for the manager, press 3 to place an order…”. Those days are long gone. We all press “0” anyways and hope a human eventually answers. 

With a voice agent, you get a real conversation. Ask your questions, clarify the answer, and get the response you would get from a human. In a perfect world, the customer does not even know they’re speaking to a bot. 

What is Natural Language Processing (NLP)?

Now that we know the difference between old school phone trees and a voice bot, let’s talk about how they use what’s called Natural Language Processing (NLP) and automation to handle the conversations. 

With NLP, the voice bot is able to not only recognize, but interpret a customer's requests, just like a human. When we communicate with each other, we are subconsciously thinking about not just the words in the sentence, but the meaning behind those words.

This is the AI voice bot for restaurants understanding the intent of the conversation. For example, is the customer placing an order, changing an order, or asking about hours of operations.

What is a Large Language Model (LLM)?From there, the bot uses pre-trained AI models, or LLM’s to provide the correct response. This ensures a smooth conversation. If a customer asks about the side salad, you don’t want the bot talking about how to cut down a tree.

Some key functionalities that an AI agent should handle could be order capture, upselling, customer service, and general questions and answers. Each agent should be designed to answer specific questions about a particular restaurant.

How do bots actually boost restaurant sales? 

• Handling more calls and reducing missed orders: Nearly 43% of all calls into a restaurant go unanswered. Whether it’s one call or a thousand calls, the agent can answer 100% of all calls. This means that potential orders never go unanswered. Most restaurants don’t even realize it, but every missed order is revenue walking out the door. Consider your average order size. That is money being left on the table if you are not answering every phone call.

  
  

• Increased customer experience: Customers return to businesses where they have good experiences. Additionally, customers want their calls answered quickly and their questions answered accurately. With an AI voice bot for restaurants, ordering food is streamlined. The bot can answer in depth questions with great detail, or quickly get on and off the phone as the customer desires. The orders are automatically pushed into the POS and the kitchen receives the order in real time. This reduces the risk of human error. Plus, it assures that orders are accurate. Text messages are sent to the customers to not only confirm the order, but to update them on completion time. Overall it provides a better, faster, and preferred experience.

  
  

• Upselling to increase order size: Employees get busy and upselling a phone customer is not always top of mind. AI agents can effectively upsell customers based on data. This not only increases the revenue per order, but pays for the technology. Humans are usually paid to upsell phone orders. Bots don’t care either way and will happily upsell customers on each call.

• Reservations and no-shows: Managing complex and everchanging reservations is another aspect an AI agent can handle. And since reservations change in an instant, humans are more likely to make an error. AI voice bots can handle these changes in real time and assure errors never occur. With automated reminders, the AI voice bot for restaurants is able to reduce no-show rates which assures your tables are always filled. This has a direct impact on revenue.

  
  

• 24/7 availability: Customers call businesses at all hours. It wouldn't make sense to have someone answering phones in the middle of the night. But it does provide a great customer experience if they call and someone answers. AI agents can be open and available all night, even if you are not serving food. You might be missing more late night orders than you even realize, and an AI agent can show you just how much could be left on the table.

  
  

Real-World Examples

According to Touchbistro, 89% of U.S. Independent Operators Feel Positive About the Use of AI.

Voice bots are all around us and we might not even know it. Some of our favorite restaurants like Wendy’s have been experimenting with voice bots since 2023. “The goal for AI-led drive-thru systems is to increase efficiency since the Wendy's drive-thru sees about 70% of the restaurant's orders daily.” 

Wingstop is also using voice AI. The goal is to completely eliminate the need for staff to answer phones. Not only does this save on labor costs, but it enhances the overall guest experience. Sometimes it's not about just missing calls, but you might be ignoring the customers right in front of the register. 

By eliminating the need for staff to answer phone calls, in-restaurant teams could focus more on in-person service, enhancing the overall guest experience.

Common Concern Around AI Voice Bots for RestaurantsThe technology works, but how do we know customers will actually talk to a bot? The good news is, most people do this everyday without even knowing it. Voices have gotten so good that we don’t even question whether it is a human or not.

Customers would rather talk to a bot and have their order taken versus being put on hold waiting for a human. If you ask someone, they may say they’ll never talk to a bot. But when you offer to put them on hold instead, they’ll gladly talk to a bot as long as their requests are completed. 

A recurring message in the media is that bots are here for our jobs. That is simply not the case. Bots are here to make us better at our jobs. Let the chef cook, let the server serve, let the bartender make drinks. Why do employees need to specialize in answering the phone? That seems like a job best handled by a bot, not an expert phone manager. 

Can an AI agent connect with my existing POS?Another concern is around AI agents working with existing restaurant systems. That is why it is critical that your bot connects directly with your technology, particularly your POS. When an order is taken by the bot, it needs to be pushed into the POS, otherwise the entire exercise is pointless.

Part of taking phone orders is having the human input the order in the POS. This takes time and leads to error. AI voice bot for restaurants can push orders instantly and accurately every time.

How to choose the right AI voice bot for your restaurant?The first step is to choose the right partner. You need a well priced solution that can prove its worth. Demos are great, but using the product in real time is best. Push for a free trial to assure the bot meets your needs.

Next, the bot needs to fully integrate with your POS. A restaurant takeout AI assistant should integrate seamlessly with your POS. No manual input required which leads to no missed order or errors. 

Finally, make sure you have an Account Manager to walk you through set up and implementation. This is new technology and AI is a new realm. You need a partner that is going to be with you along the way.

To recap:

• Assure the bot integrates with your POS

• Trial the solution before buying

• Make sure there is an assigned Account Manager

• Don’t overpay

  
  

Conclusion:

We’re all entering a new world. AI can solve a lot of problems, but only if you choose the right solution. Start small and grow into the technology, especially if new technology has been looked at as a burden by your restaurant in the past. 

Voice agents can take orders, answer questions, manage reservations, and reduce the load on your employees.

These are problems all restaurants face in some form. Ignoring them or sticking to the status quo is no longer an option. I encourage you to do your own research on AI. Not only will it help your business, but it’s pretty fun to just test out.

Try TARA for free with a no risk trial and give TARA a try for yourself.

• No more missed calls

  
  

• Increased order size

  
  

• Happy staff AND customers

How can AI-powered phone ordering for restaurants improve takeout?

AI agents answer 100% of calls, take each order accurately, and integrate with your existing POS.

Can a restaurant takeout AI assistant increase revenue?Yes! AI can intelligently upsell customers to assure every order size is increased by 10% - 20%.

Is an AI voice bot for restaurants better than traditional phone ordering?Yes! Not only does AI eliminate missed calls, but it ensures order accuracy while letting your staff focus on other tasks.

How much does an automated restaurant phone answering cost?

Your AI assistant shouldn’t cost more than your current staff. In fact, in the world of AI, you should look for an inexpensive solution to your problems.

See how HeyTARA can help with takeout orders!