The Zenchef AI Concierge is an intelligent voice assistant that answers your restaurant's incoming calls automatically, even when your team is busy, in service, or unavailable.
It manages the full reservation journey for your guests and answers general questions about your restaurant. For anything it cannot resolve, it transfers the call directly to your team, so no caller request ever goes unanswered.
Table of Contents
- Key Things to Know
- How the AI Concierge Helps You
- What the AI Concierge Does / Does Not Do yet
- Setup and Customisation
- FAQ
1.Key Things to Know
- The AI Concierge answers calls automatically and manages reservation requests based on your Zenchef availability.
- Each reservation is added to your reservation list and automatically confirmed to the guest by SMS.
- The assistant operates 24/7.
- It helps reduce missed calls and frees staff during peak times.
- It also answers general questions about your restaurant and transfers any request it cannot handle directly to your team.
- The AI Concierge progressively improves based on the information you add in your back office.
- While powerful, this feature still has clear limitations and is not a replacement for human judgment in complex cases.
2.How the AI Concierge Helps You
The Problem
Restaurants regularly miss calls during service, deliveries, preparation, or staff breaks.
The impact is well known:
- lost reservations,
- disruption to service flow,
- negative customer perception (“no one answers”).
A missed call often means a missed cover and lost revenue.
The Solution
The AI Concierge:
- answers incoming calls immediately,
- manages the full reservation journey using your live Zenchef availability
- sends a confirmation SMS,
- answers general questions about your restaurant,
- stores all interactions in your back office.
The Main Benefits
- Continuous availability: callers always reach an assistant.
- Reduced interruptions for staff during busy periods.
- Higher chance of converting calls into confirmed reservations, including answers to guest questions.
- Consistent and professional customer interaction.
3. What the AI Concierge Does / Does Not Do Yet
What the AI Concierge Does
| Capability | Description | Benefit |
| Personalised welcome message | You can set a custom greeting that plays at the start of every call, using your restaurant's name and tone. | Creates a consistent and branded first impression for every caller. |
| Self-service onboarding only for France and Belgium | You can activate and configure the AI Concierge directly from your Zenchef back office, without needing assistance from a Zenchef advisor. Currently available in France and Belgium only. | Faster setup and full control over your configuration from day one. |
| Answers incoming calls automatically | The AI picks up first and can transfer to the restaurant if needed. | Minimises missed calls. |
| Takes reservations | Confirms date, time, and party size based on real-time Zenchef availability. | Streamlined reservation flow. |
| Highlights recurring customer questions | The AI Concierge automatically identifies questions that callers ask repeatedly. You can review them in your back office and add answers to improve the assistant over time. | Helps you spot gaps in your setup and continuously improve the caller experience. |
| Sends automatic SMS confirmations | Guests receive clear details of their reservation (if SMS notifications are enabled on the Zenchef account) | Reduced errors and misunderstandings. |
| Syncs with the Zenchef reservation list | Reservations are added directly to the back office. | No double entry. |
| Provides call transcripts and summaries | All available in the Zencall space. | Easy follow-up and quality control. |
| Suggests alternative time slots | Offers nearby time slots or transfers the call. | Better conversion of reservation attempts. |
| Transfers complex cases | Calls are transferred when the AI cannot address the request. | Smooth customer experience. |
| Operates 24/7 | Works outside business hours. | Continuous service. |
| Send SMS Payment Link for Payment-Required Reservations |
| Capture more secured reservations. No manual follow-up needed |
| Modify or cancel existing reservations | Modifies or cancels reservation live on call or as SMS self-service link. | Minimises transferred calls to restaurant. |
| Learns from your inputs | You can add responses to frequent questions. | Gradual improvement over time. |
What the AI Concierge Does Not Do (Yet)
| Limitation | Impact |
| Handle experience-based reservations | AI cannot process availability for experiences. |
| Address guests by name | No caller identification. |
| Take takeaway/food orders | Call transferred to the restaurant. |
| Customise assistant voice | Only default voice available. |
| Manage Instagram/Facebook messages | Voice-only system; no text channel integration. |
| Be used in multi-venue restaurants | Agent limited to single-location restaurants. |
| Group restaurant availability | Only shows availability for the restaurant receiving the call. It cannot offer alternative slots at other restaurants in the same group. |
4. Setup and Customisation
Activation
- The AI Concierge is added to your Zenchef subscription as an optional service.In France and Belgium, you can activate and configure the AI Concierge directly from your back office. In other markets, a Zenchef advisor will guide you through the setup.
- You receive a dedicated phone number once activated.
Call Forwarding Setup
You will be assisted by a Zenchef advisor for the setup , but for information, there are two ways to connect your phone line to the AI Concierge:
Option 1 — Full AI (Recommended): You publish the AI Concierge number as your restaurant's public contact number. All incoming calls are handled directly by the AI. This is the simplest setup and can be configured directly from your Zenchef back office.
Option 2 — AI as a Backup: You keep your existing public number. Your team answers calls normally and the AI steps in only when the line is busy or unanswered. This setup requires contacting your telecom provider to configure the forwarding rule.
Option 3 — AI with Internal Forwarding: You provide AI Concierge with a dedicated, non-public internal number for routing. Your public number remains unchanged, and AI Concierge intelligently forwards calls to your internal team number when necessary. This setup balances automation with controlled team involvement. Requires asking your phone provider to set up call forwarding from your public number to AI Concierge.
Reservation Handling
- The AI uses your Zenchef availability rules.
- Reservations appear instantly in your reservation list. .
- An automatic SMS is sent with the reservation details, it’s only applies if SMS notifications are enabled on your Zenchef account.
Call Analysis
The Zencall area provides:
- full call transcripts,
- a summarised version of each conversation.
(Accessible even if you do not use the Zencall product.)
Customisation
- You can provide answers to frequent questions in your back office.
- The AI immediately incorporates these into its behaviour.
- You can also view unhandled questions to refine the assistant’s knowledge.
5 – FAQ
Can I limit the AI Concierge to specific hours?
Technically yes, but only through your telecom provider’s routing rules.
The Zenchef number itself is always active.
What happens if a requested time slot is full?
The AI Concierge suggests alternative options based on your availability or offers to transfer the call.
Can the AI Concierge modify or cancel reservations?
Yes it does.
Does it handle experience-based reservations?
Not currently.
Can I customise the voice?
Not at this stage.
Can the AI Concierge send reservation confirmation by email instead of text ?
No directly through AI Concierge. However, if the restaurant already has the paid SMS feature enabled in their Zenchef account, booking confirmations will be sent via SMS automatically.
What happens if I use more minutes than my plan includes? Nothing, the service continues working normally. If you exceed your plan’s volume, additional minutes will simply be billed at your standard extra rate.
How does AI Concierge connect to my phone?
You can choose between two simple options:
- Option 1: Full AI (Recommended): The AI answers all calls and your team only steps in if help is needed. Best for saving the most time.
- Option 2: AI as a Backup: Your staff answers calls normally and the AI only steps in if the line is busy, unanswered, or the restaurant is closed (requires asking your phone provider to set up call forwarding rules). Best for keeping human contact first.
- Option 3: AI with Internal Forwarding: The AI screens calls and forwards to your dedicated internal team number when needed, keeping your public number unchanged (requires asking your phone provider to set up call forwarding to AI Concierge). Best for intelligent call routing.
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