AI Chatbot for Restaurants: Ordering and Reservations by WhatsApp
The restaurant industry faces a constant challenge: handling multiple simultaneous requests without sacrificing service quality. During peak hours, restaurants receive dozens of calls to order, consult the menu, make reservations, and ask about allergens or ingredients. An artificial intelligence chatbot for WhatsApp solves these bottlenecks by automating the most frequent interactions, allowing the team to focus on what they do best: preparing exceptional food.
In this complete guide we explain how an AI chatbot for restaurants on WhatsApp works, what problems it solves, what are its main use cases and why Aurora Inbox is the ideal platform to implement it in your restaurant business.
The Problem: Restaurant Communication Challenges
Modern restaurants operate in a high-pressure environment where efficient communication with customers is as important as the quality of the food. These are the main challenges they face on a daily basis:
1. Telephone calls during peak hours
The phone rings nonstop between 12:00 and 15:00, and again between 19:00 and 22:00. Floor staff must abandon their duties to answer calls, take orders, repeat the menu and confirm delivery addresses. Each call consumes between 3 and 7 minutes, and during peak hours many calls are simply lost because no one can take them.
Manual reservation management
Writing reservations in a notebook or spreadsheet generates errors: tables assigned twice, confused schedules, forgotten reservations. Customers call to confirm, modify or cancel, consuming even more of the team's time. When a customer arrives and their table is not ready, the whole experience deteriorates.
3. Repetitive questions about the menu
"Do you have vegan options?", "Does the risotto contain gluten?", "What is the dish of the day?", "What time do you serve breakfast?". These questions are repeated dozens of times a day. Each one requires a team member to stop what he or she is doing to answer, even when the information is available on the physical menu or on social media.
4. Coordination of home delivery orders
Taking a home order by phone involves: confirming each dish, checking availability, noting modifications, repeating the address, calculating the total and estimating the delivery time. Mistakes are frequent: wrong dishes, wrong addresses, incomplete orders. Each error means a dissatisfied customer and an additional cost for the restaurant.
5. Lack of effective digital presence
Many restaurants have a presence on social networks but do not have a direct and efficient communication channel. Messages on Instagram or Facebook accumulate without response, potential customers get frustrated and choose a competitor who responds quickly.
The Solution: Chatbot with AI for Restaurants on WhatsApp
A chatbot with artificial intelligence integrated to WhatsApp Business transforms restaurant communication. It is not an automatic menu with numbered options, but an intelligent agent able to understand what the customer needs and respond in a natural way, as the best waiter of your team would do.
How an AI chatbot for restaurants works
The chatbot uses natural language processing (NLP) and advanced language models to understand customers' messages, no matter how they formulate their requests. It can interpret messages such as "I want a large pepperoni pizza for pickup at 8" or "Do you have anything gluten-free for someone with celiac disease?" and respond with accurate and relevant information.
The chatbot's artificial intelligence is trained with restaurant-specific information: menu complete with descriptions, prices, ingredients, allergens, opening hours, reservation policies, delivery coverage zones and any other information relevant to the operation.
Use Cases: What a Chatbot for Restaurants Can Do
1. Share the interactive digital menu
The chatbot presents the full restaurant menu interactively within WhatsApp. Customers can browse categories (starters, main courses, desserts, drinks), see images of the dishes, check prices and read detailed descriptions with ingredients.
Unlike a static PDF, the chatbot's digital menu allows:
- Search for cymbals by name, ingredient or type of cuisine
- Filter options for dietary restrictions (vegan, gluten-free, lactose-free)
- See availability in real time, without offering sold-out dishes
- Consult the dish of the day or current promotions
- To know the preparation times estimates for each dish
2. Take complete orders by chat
The chatbot guides the customer through the ordering process in a conversational manner. The customer can add dishes, modify quantities, request customizations ("no onions", "extra cheese", "extra sauce") and the chatbot confirms every detail before processing the order.
The typical chatbot order flow includes:
- Customer indicates that he/she wants to order
- The chatbot displays the menu or question you would like to ask.
- Customer selects and customizes dishes
- The chatbot displays the order summary with the order total
- Customer confirms order
- The chatbot sends the confirmation with the order number and estimated time.
This process eliminates misinterpretations that occur on phone calls and ensures that each order arrives complete and correct in the kitchen.
Manage reservations by checking availability.
The chatbot manages restaurant reservations intelligently. When a customer wants to make a reservation, the agent asks for date, time, number of diners and checks availability in real time. If the requested time is not available, the chatbot suggests nearby alternatives.
Reservation management capabilities include:
- Check availability by date, time and group size
- Confirm reservation with a detailed summary sent to the customer
- Send reminders automatic 24 hours and 2 hours before reservation
- Allow modifications of date, time or number of persons
- Manage cancellations releasing the table automatically
- Manage waiting lists when the restaurant is full
4. Answer questions about allergens and diets
For customers with dietary restrictions, a well-trained chatbot is an invaluable tool. The agent knows the composition of each dish and can answer questions such as:
- "Which dishes do not contain nuts?"
- "Does pasta carbonara have egg in it?"
- "Do you have options for celiacs?"
- "Does the chocolate dessert contain milk?"
- "What keto options do you have available?"
The chatbot responds accurately because its knowledge base includes detailed ingredient and allergen information for each dish on the menu. This not only improves the customer experience, but also reduces the risk of allergic reactions due to incorrect information.
5. Send order confirmations and updates
Once the customer places an order, the chatbot keeps the communication active:
- Immediate confirmation with summary of order, total and payment method
- Notification of preparation when the kitchen starts to prepare the order
- Notice of shipment when the delivery man leaves the restaurant
- Estimated Arrival updated according to the location of the delivery person
- Request for feedback after delivery to know the customer's satisfaction
This proactive communication reduces follow-up calls ("is my order out yet?", "how much longer?") and significantly improves service perception.
6. Coordinate home deliveries
The chatbot automates delivery logistics:
- Verify the coverage area before taking the order
- Calculate shipping cost according to distance
- Estimate delivery time considering the time and current demand
- Request complete address with references for the delivery person
- Allows order tracking with real-time updates
Benefits of an AI Chatbot for Restaurants
24/7 service with no additional staffing costs
The chatbot handles inquiries and takes orders 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A customer can make a reservation at 11 p.m. for the next day, or place an order for breakfast at 6 a.m., without the restaurant needing additional staff at those times.
Reduction of order errors
Written chat requests eliminate the ambiguity of telephone conversations. There are no problems with ambient noise, hard-to-understand accents or misheard cymbal names. The customer sees the summary before confirming and can correct any errors.
Increased capacity for simultaneous attention
While an employee can only handle one call at a time, the chatbot handles hundreds of simultaneous conversations. During peak hours, no query goes unanswered and no customer waits in line.
Increase in average ticket
The chatbot can suggest relevant add-ons, side dishes and promotions during the ordering process: "Would you like to add a drink for only $25 more?", "With your pasta you can add a starter salad with 20% discount". These smart suggestions increase the average value of each order by 15% to 30%.
Customer behavioral data and analytics
Each interaction generates valuable data: most consulted dishes, peak demand times, frequently asked questions, conversion rate from consultation to order, reasons for cancellation. This information allows you to make informed decisions about menus, schedules and promotions.
Customer loyalty
A fast, accurate and personalized experience generates loyalty. Customers who can order with a simple WhatsApp message, with no waiting and no errors, return more often than those who must call and wait in line.
Aurora Inbox: The Ideal Platform for your Restaurant
Aurora Inbox offers all the necessary tools to implement a chatbot with AI in your restaurant through WhatsApp Business. These are the features that make Aurora Inbox the best option for the restaurant industry:
Catalog of products for the menu
Aurora Inbox includes a product catalog module that works as a digital menu within WhatsApp. You can upload all your dishes with images, descriptions, prices, categories and nutritional information. The chatbot uses this catalog to display options, answer questions about ingredients and facilitate the ordering process.
AI agent trainable with your information
Aurora Inbox's artificial intelligence agent is trained with your restaurant's documentation: full menu, reservation policies, delivery zones, opening hours, current promotions and any relevant information. This allows the chatbot to respond with the accuracy of an experienced employee.
Multi-agent inbox
When the chatbot detects that a query requires human attention (a complaint, a complex special request or an unanticipated allergy), it transfers the conversation to a human agent with full context. The restaurant team can attend to these conversations from a shared inbox.
Integration with WhatsApp Business API
Aurora Inbox connects directly to the official WhatsApp Business API, ensuring data security, service reliability and compliance with Meta policies. The chatbot messages include the business verification seal, generating confidence in the customer.
Automation of notifications
Set up automatic messages for each step of the process: order confirmation, status updates, booking reminders and feedback requests. All automated and personalized with the customer's name and order details.
How to Implement a Chatbot for your Restaurant
Implementing an AI chatbot for your restaurant with Aurora Inbox is a simple process:
- Register your account in Aurora Inbox and connect your WhatsApp Business Number
- Upload your menu in the product catalog with images, descriptions and prices
- Train the agent with information about your restaurant: opening hours, delivery areas, policies, allergens, etc.
- Configure flows of orders, reservations and frequently asked questions
- Test and adjust chatbot with test orders before activating it with real customers
- Launch and monitor performance with Aurora Inbox analytics dashboard
In less than a week your restaurant can be handling orders and reservations by WhatsApp in an automated way, without the need for advanced technical knowledge.
Frequently Asked Questions about Chatbot for Restaurants
1. Can a chatbot handle orders with special customizations?
Yes. AI chatbots like Aurora Inbox understand customization requests such as "no onions," "extra cheese," "medium rare," "sauce on the side," or "double portion of rice. The agent records each modification and includes it in the order summary so that the kitchen receives clear and precise instructions.
2. What if a customer has a question that the chatbot can't answer?
The Aurora Inbox chatbot has the ability to transfer the conversation to a human agent when it detects that it cannot resolve the query. This transfer is done with the full context of the conversation, so that the human agent does not have to ask the customer to repeat his request. This is known as Human-in-the-Loop.
3. How to update the menu in the chatbot when there are changes?
The Aurora Inbox product catalog is updated in real time. When you add a new dish, change a price or mark a product as unavailable, the chatbot reflects these changes immediately in conversations with customers. There is no need to reprogram or restart the chatbot.
4. Can the chatbot handle multiple branches of the restaurant?
Yes, Aurora Inbox allows you to manage multiple WhatsApp numbers and configure different catalogs for each branch. The chatbot can ask the customer which branch he/she prefers and display the menu, availability and delivery zones corresponding to that specific location.
5. How much does it cost to implement a chatbot for restaurants with Aurora Inbox?
Aurora Inbox offers plans tailored to the volume of conversations and the needs of each restaurant. Plans include AI agent, product catalog, multi-agent tray and WhatsApp Business API integrations. You can request a free demo to learn which plan best suits your operation by visiting the Aurora Inbox website.
