AI-Powered System Handles Restaurant Phone Orders With Customizable Tech

AI startup Kea has teamed with CBS NorthStar, a provider of restaurant technology solutions, to bring its voice AI technologies to the dining industry.

Kea offers a “cashier in the cloud” — an AI-powered customer service representative designed to handle customer interactions and orders over the phone.

Kea’s AI technology will be integrated into CBS NorthStar's Point of Sale (POS) systems, enhancing restaurant operations.

"With decades of experience in pioneering restaurant technology solutions that optimize operations, we recognize the immense potential of voice AI to drive operational efficiency and enhance customer service," said Jeremy Julian, CBS NorthStar’s chief revenue officer. 

"This partnership with Kea underscores our commitment to propel the restaurant industry forward into the era of AI."

AI-powered voice technologies in restaurants can handle customer orders, letting staff focus on cooking and other tasks.

McDonald’s recently dropped its AI voice ordering system from its drive-thrus. However, CBS Northstar says integrating Kea’s technology will give restaurants better flexibility to customize their technology for specific needs. 

Using a combination of automated speech recognition and natural language understanding, Kea’s technology takes customer orders and transfers them directly to the kitchen through the restaurant’s POS system.

Related:Amazon Generative AI-Powered Shopping Assistant Available to US Users

A human operator can still intervene as needed to ensure order success, however.

Kea's voice AI technology has handled 1 million calls for hundreds of restaurants since 2022. Its partnership with CBS NorthStar will make its solution available to more than 10,000 restaurant operators.

California Fish Grill,  a chain of seafood restaurants in the Greater Los Angeles area, has been using the integrated technology for the past few months.

“I can attest that these technologies are effective for our large-scale operations and

will continue to help us grow,” said Patrick Waiyawaytar, California Fish Grill’s vice president for information technology.

Founded in 2017, Kea has raised $29.6 million to streamline customer service through conversational AI. The company says it has digitized phone ordering for 10 enterprise-level restaurant chains.

This story first appeared in IoT World Today's sister publication AI Business.