An AI receptionist for restaurants that answers during the Friday rush
At 7pm on a Friday nobody at your host stand has a free hand for the phone. The ticket rail is full, there is a wait at the door, and the phone keeps ringing. GateKeeperAI is an AI receptionist for restaurants and bars. It picks up that phone so your host can keep seating people.
Where leads leak
Where a restaurant loses bookings and events
Most of those calls are the same five questions: are you open, do you take reservations, is there a patio, do you have gluten free options, can I bring a group of twelve. The AI answers from the details you give it. When the call is a rehearsal dinner, a birthday buyout or a catering order for an office lunch, it takes the date, the headcount and a contact, and puts the lead in your CRM for the manager to call back.
The phone is only half of it. Your Google reviews land in one inbox with a reply already drafted, so you can answer last night’s one star complaint before the lunch crowd reads it.
The phone rings hardest when you are busiest
Your host is seating a six top, a server needs a manager, and the phone is on its fourth ring. Somebody grabs it, says please hold, and forgets them. That caller wanted to book a table for Saturday.
Private events get lost on a sticky note
The call about a forty person holiday party is the most valuable call you get all week, and it is usually taken by whoever was closest to the phone. The details end up on a ticket stub by the register, and nobody follows up.
Reviews pile up with nobody answering them
You know you should reply to reviews. Between ordering, scheduling and covering a shift, it does not happen, and the unanswered complaint from three weeks ago is the first thing a new guest reads.
Intake
Reservations, events and catering, taken down properly
What the AI asks your callers
- What day and time would you like to come in, and how many people?
- Is this for a special occasion we should know about?
- Are you asking about a private event or a large party? Roughly how many guests?
- Would you like to talk to someone about catering? What date, how many people, and pickup or delivery?
- Does anyone in your group have a food allergy the kitchen should know about?
- Would you prefer inside, the bar, or the patio if it is open?
- What is the best name and number for the booking?
What lands on the lead card
- Guest name and phone number
- Date, time and party size
- Occasion, such as a birthday or anniversary
- Private event or catering request with headcount
- Allergies or dietary notes
- Seating preference
- Email for event follow up
- Recording and transcript of the call
On the phone
A rehearsal dinner inquiry during service
Sample call. The business and the caller are fictional.
GateKeeperAI: Thanks for calling The Copper Still. Are you calling about a reservation, or something else?
Caller: Something else. I’m planning a rehearsal dinner in June and wanted to know if you do private events.
GateKeeperAI: We do. The back room holds up to forty seated. What’s the date, and about how many guests?
Caller: Saturday, June 14th. Probably thirty-five people.
GateKeeperAI: That fits the back room. Would you want a set menu, or heavy appetizers and a bar?
Caller: Probably a set menu. And one guest has a nut allergy.
GateKeeperAI: Noted. What’s the best name, number and email for you?
Caller: Megan Ruiz. My number is 864 555 0142, and it’s megan.ruiz at gmail.
GateKeeperAI: Thanks, Megan. Our events manager will call you to go over menus and the deposit. I’ve written down June 14th, thirty-five guests, set menu and the nut allergy.
After the call
Reviews, events and follow up in one place
Answer every Google review from one place
New Google reviews show up in one inbox with a reply drafted in your voice. Thank the regular who mentioned the brisket, apologize to the table that waited forty minutes, adjust the wording and post it.
Operate and up
Event and catering leads with a follow up owner
Private events and catering calls land in a pipeline you can run: inquiry, menu sent, deposit, booked. Put a task on each one so the rehearsal dinner does not wait for a callback until it is booked somewhere else.
Included on every plan
Send the event menu from your own email
Send the private dining menu and next steps from your restaurant’s own Gmail or Microsoft mailbox, right from the lead. The guest sees your address, and the thread stays on their record.
Operate and up
See the Google review inbox and the rest of the CRMCompare the Operate plan and the AI receptionist
Two ways to start
Start with the review inbox, or have the phone answered
CRM only
Every lead in one place
Calls ring through to you and are recorded and written up. Forms, chat and lead ads land in the same pipeline. From $40 a month.
CRM + AI Receptionist
Every call answered
The AI picks up day or night, asks your questions, books the appointment and puts it all in the CRM. From $200 a month.
Questions
Questions from restaurant and bar owners
Does it connect to my POS or my reservation system?
No. It does not plug into your POS or a reservation platform. It answers from the hours, menu notes and policies you give it, takes reservation and event details, and puts them in the CRM for your team to confirm.
Can it answer menu questions like gluten free options or happy hour?
Yes, from what you tell it. Give it your hours, happy hour times, parking, patio and dietary options, and update them when the menu changes. If it does not know, it takes a message instead of guessing.
What happens with a call about a large party or a buyout?
It takes the date, headcount, occasion and contact details and writes them up as a lead, so your manager can call back with menus and pricing. During the business hours you set, it can live transfer the call to a manager instead.
Can I reply to Google reviews without the AI Receptionist?
Yes. The review inbox with drafted replies comes with the Operate CRM plan, which does not include the AI answering your phone. If the phone is not your problem, that is a sensible place to start.
Will it sound strange to a regular calling to ask if the kitchen is still open?
It answers in a friendly, plain voice with the answer you gave it, like the kitchen closing at 10 and the bar staying open until midnight. Most callers just want the answer and to hang up.
Booking calls for med spas and dental officesShowing requests for real estate agentsSee how GateKeeperAI is set up for other industries
Let the phone ring during the rush
If the reviews are the bigger headache, start on Operate and clear the backlog this week. If it is the phone, book a setup call and bring your hours, menu notes and event policies.