24/7 Reservations
Take bookings by phone, web, or chat any time of day or night.
Reduce No-Shows
Smart confirmation system with automated reminders cuts no-shows significantly.
Table Optimisation
AI helps maximise covers by intelligently managing table turnover.
Customer Insights
Track preferences, special occasions, and dining history automatically.
Everything your restaurant needs
Our AI integrates with your existing reservation and POS systems to handle bookings and build lasting customer relationships.
Works with your reservation platform
An AI receptionist that takes the booking while your team is on the floor
The phone rings most when nobody can answer it: 7.30pm on a Friday with a full dining room, Sunday lunch with a queue at the bar, the hour before service when the kitchen needs the manager. Every unanswered call is a table that goes to the restaurant down the road, a large party that books elsewhere, or a regular who gives up and orders in. Nobody sees those covers on a report. They simply never arrive.
An AI receptionist answers every call at once, in a natural British voice, and does what your host stand would do if it were never busy: takes the booking against live availability in OpenTable or ResDiary, moves or cancels it, captures the details of the private-dining enquiry for the manager, answers the questions callers ask most, and sends the confirmation by text. AIEngine builds and runs it for your restaurant on your existing number, with a person one transfer away for anything that needs one.
The phone problem in hospitality
A restaurant phone is answered by whoever is nearest, which during service is nobody. Front-of-house staff are seating, clearing and taking orders; the manager is in the kitchen or dealing with a table. A ringing phone is an interruption to the guests already in the room, and the choice to ignore it is understandable. The cost is only visible later, in the quiet Tuesday that could have had two more tables and the Christmas party that went elsewhere in October.
Recruiting and keeping front-of-house staff has been difficult across UK hospitality for several years, and the phone is the first job that gets dropped when a shift is short. Online booking has helped, but a large share of guests still ring, particularly older guests, groups, and anyone with a question about allergens, access or a special occasion that a booking widget cannot answer.
Allergen questions carry a legal weight of their own. Under the Food Information Regulations and the changes brought in after Natasha’s Law, a restaurant must be able to give accurate allergen information, and a rushed answer from someone on the phone who is not the chef is a risk. A receptionist that answers only from the allergen information you approve, and always tells the guest to confirm with staff on arrival, removes that risk rather than adding to it.
What the AI receptionist handles, call by call
These are the call types we configure for a typical restaurant or pub. Every path follows the rules you set, and every call is transcribed and logged for the manager.
| Call type | What the AI receptionist does |
|---|---|
| Table booking | Takes the date, time, party size and name, checks live availability in OpenTable or ResDiary, applies your rules for turn times, minimum spends and which tables can be booked by phone, books the table and sends an SMS confirmation. Takes a deposit or card guarantee where your booking system supports it. |
| Change or cancel a booking | Finds the booking by name and date, amends the time or party size, or cancels it and releases the table straight away. Sends an updated confirmation. |
| Large party or private hire | Captures the date, numbers, occasion, budget and contact details for groups above the size you set, and passes the enquiry to the manager as a structured message rather than booking it blind. Sends the caller your group menus or private-dining information by text or email. |
| Allergen or dietary question | Answers only from the allergen and menu information you approve, records the guest’s requirement against the booking, and always tells the guest to confirm with a member of staff on arrival. Anything not covered by the approved information is passed to a person. |
| Opening hours, directions and practical questions | Answers questions about hours, parking, step-free access, dogs, children, dress code and what to do if running late, from the information you supply. Sends a map link by text on request. |
| Takeaway or collection order | Where you want phone orders, takes the order from the menu you approve, confirms the price and collection time, and passes it to the kitchen or till in the way agreed at setup. |
| Supplier, press and sales calls | Takes the company name and reason for calling, offers the manager’s email address for anything that needs a reply, and keeps the line clear for guests. |
| Out of hours | Bookings continue overnight and on closed days against live availability. Messages and private-dining enquiries are waiting for the manager before the next service. |
Working with the systems your restaurant already uses
The receptionist only earns its keep if a call ends as a booking in your diary, not as a note on a pad.
- OpenTable
- Live availability, booking, amendment and cancellation, with guest notes such as dietary requirements attached.
- ResDiary
- Bookings against your table plan and turn times, with deposits and card guarantees where you use them.
- Your phone system
- Answers on every ring, on overflow only, or only during service and out of hours. No number change.
- SMS confirmations and reminders
- Booking confirmations, reminders the day before, and a one-tap way to cancel or amend, sent from the restaurant’s name.
- EPOS and ordering
- Integration for phone orders is scoped at discovery, so takeaway orders reach the kitchen in the way that fits your setup.
- Call recording and reporting
- Every call transcribed and searchable. Weekly reports on calls answered, bookings taken, group enquiries and the questions guests ask most.
Allergens, guest data and what the receptionist will not do
Guest names, phone numbers and dietary requirements are personal data under the UK GDPR, and reminder messages fall under PECR. All call audio, transcripts and booking data are processed and stored in UK data centres, encrypted in transit and at rest, and retained only for the period in your data processing agreement. AIEngine acts as your data processor.
On allergens the rule is simple: the receptionist says only what you have approved, and it always tells the guest to confirm with staff on arrival. It does not guess whether a dish can be adapted, and it passes anything outside the approved information to a person. The responsibility for accurate allergen information under the Food Information Regulations stays with the restaurant, and the receptionist is built to support that rather than to answer around it.
- Allergen answers limited to the information you supply, with a standing instruction to confirm on arrival.
- Dietary requirements recorded against the booking so the kitchen sees them before the guest sits down.
- Reminder messages sent only where the guest has agreed to receive them.
- Full transcript and audio of every call available to the manager.
When a person takes over
We agree the handoff rules with the general manager before launch. Complaints, large-party negotiations, anything about allergens beyond the approved information, distressed callers and anyone who asks for a person are transferred to the manager with a summary of the call so far, or logged as a callback for after service if nobody can take the transfer.
The receptionist takes the volume so your team can stay with the guests in the room. When a call does reach the manager, the details are already written down.
How we set it up
Most restaurants are live within one to two weeks. You keep your phone number, your booking system and your menus.
- 1
Discovery call
We map your booking rules, group thresholds, menus, allergen information and the questions guests ask most with the general manager.
- 2
Scripts and approved information
We write the conversation flows and load the exact information the receptionist may use for hours, access, dietary questions and menus.
- 3
Integration
We connect the receptionist to your phone system and to OpenTable or ResDiary, and sign the data processing agreement.
- 4
Test calls
Your team rings the test line as guests, groups and awkward callers until every path works.
- 5
Soft launch and tuning
The receptionist starts on overflow during service, then takes every call. We review transcripts with you weekly for the first month.
Frequently asked questions
How is the service priced for a restaurant?
We quote a flat monthly fee per site after the discovery call, so a busy week never costs more. The fee depends on your call volumes, the integrations you need and how many sites you run, and it always includes setup, integration, script writing, staff training and ongoing changes to your scripts. There are no per-call or per-minute charges. Call 07340 891928 or email contact@aiengineltd.com for a quote.
Does it work with OpenTable and ResDiary?
Yes. The receptionist reads live availability from and books directly into OpenTable or ResDiary, amends and cancels bookings, and attaches guest notes such as dietary requirements. Integration is part of setup and included in the monthly price.
How does it handle allergen questions?
It answers only from the allergen information you approve, records the requirement against the booking, and always tells the guest to confirm with a member of staff on arrival. Anything outside the approved information is passed to a person. Responsibility for accurate allergen information stays with the restaurant.
Can it take large-party and private-dining enquiries?
It captures the date, numbers, occasion, budget and contact details for any group above the size you set and passes the enquiry to the manager as a structured message. It can send your group menus by text or email on the call.
Will it reduce no-shows?
Confirmations and reminders with a one-tap way to cancel or amend mean guests who cannot make it tell you, and the table is released to the next caller. Where your booking system supports deposits or card guarantees, the receptionist can take them on the call.
Can it take takeaway orders?
Where you want phone orders, yes. It takes the order from the menu you approve, confirms the price and collection time, and passes it to the kitchen or till in the way agreed at setup. EPOS integration is scoped at discovery.
Is it UK GDPR compliant?
Call audio, transcripts and booking data are stored in UK data centres and processed under a written data processing agreement with AIEngine as your processor. Reminder messages are sent only where the guest has agreed to receive them.
How quickly can it be live?
Most restaurants are live within one to two weeks: discovery and scripts in the first few days, booking-system and phone integration after that, then a soft launch on overflow during service before the receptionist takes every call.