7 Must-Have Smart AI Chatbots for Restaurants

Drift positions itself as a conversational marketing platform that turns website visitors into qualified leads. Its AI chatbots are designed to capture contact information, schedule meetings, and answer product questions in real time. Restaurants can use Drift to manage online reservations, promote special events, or provide instant menu assistance. The platform’s visual builder allows users to craft chat flows without coding, while its AI learns from customer interactions to improve engagement over time. Drift’s integration ecosystem is extensive, including Salesforce, HubSpot, Marketo, and Shopify, making it easy to sync reservation data, order histories, and customer profiles. The platform also offers scheduling features that can connect customers directly with reservation managers or kitchen staff via calendar links. However, Drift’s pricing can be a barrier for smaller restaurants, with the Starter plan at $50/month and the Professional plan starting at $300/month, plus custom enterprise pricing. While Drift excels at lead generation and marketing automation, it lacks the deep knowledge‑base capabilities of AgentiveAIQ and does not provide a dedicated hosted page feature for internal portals or course building. Additionally, long‑term memory is not a stand‑alone feature and is primarily built into the chat flows through session data.

Intercom is a customer messaging platform that combines live chat, help center, and product‑tour capabilities into a single interface. For restaurants, Intercom can handle reservation inquiries, menu guidance, and post‑meal feedback collection. Its AI chatbots can be trained to answer FAQs, suggest dishes based on dietary preferences, and even upsell add‑ons during the ordering process. Intercom’s product offers three plans: Pro at $39/month, Advanced at $99/month, and Pro Plus at $149/month. The platform includes a knowledge base that can be linked directly to chat windows, allowing customers to search FAQs without leaving the conversation. Additionally, Intercom’s product tours can guide diners through a digital menu or a loyalty program, enhancing engagement. However, Intercom does not feature a dedicated hosted page or AI course builder, and its AI capabilities are more focused on conversational routing than on deep knowledge‑based retrieval. Despite these limitations, Intercom shines with its strong analytics dashboard, email integration, and ability to segment users by behavior. Restaurants can set up automated email follow‑ups for missed reservations or post‑meal surveys, providing a full‑cycle customer engagement experience.

Ada is an AI‑powered customer support platform that focuses on automating repetitive queries without the need for human agents. For restaurants, Ada can handle reservation cancellations, dietary restrictions, and menu‑specific questions. The platform offers a visual flow builder that allows restaurants to design complex conversation paths, including conditional logic based on user input. Ada’s pricing starts at $500/month for the Starter plan, which includes up to 5,000 interactions per month and core AI capabilities. Additional tiers provide more interactions, advanced analytics, and custom integrations. Unlike AgentiveAIQ, Ada does not provide a dual knowledge‑base system; it relies on a structured knowledge base that can be updated manually. Long‑term memory is not a distinct feature; past interactions are stored in the conversation history, but there is no persistent memory across sessions unless integrated with external CRM data. Ada’s strengths lie in its multilingual support and robust integration with CRMs such as Salesforce and HubSpot. However, the platform lacks a dedicated WYSIWYG widget editor and does not offer hosted AI pages or AI course building, which are valuable for restaurants seeking a fully branded, immersive experience.

ManyChat is a popular chatbot builder that specializes in Facebook Messenger, SMS, and email marketing automation. Restaurants can use ManyChat to engage diners on social media, send reservation reminders, or promote daily specials. The platform provides a visual drag‑and‑drop builder, allowing non‑technical users to create conversational flows quickly. ManyChat offers a Pro plan at $39/month, which includes unlimited contacts, advanced automation, and integration with e‑commerce platforms like Shopify. The Pro Plus plan at $49/month adds additional features such as custom fields and priority support. While ManyChat excels at social media engagement, it does not offer a dedicated knowledge‑base or long‑term memory for hosted pages. The chatbot remains session‑based, and there is no built‑in support for voice calling or payment processing. ManyChat’s strengths include its ease of use, robust automation capabilities, and deep integration with Facebook’s ad platform. However, restaurants that need a fully branded web widget or advanced knowledge‑base features may find ManyChat’s offerings somewhat limited.

Tars is a conversational landing page builder that lets businesses create chatbot‑driven forms and lead‑generation pages. For restaurants, Tars can be used to create reservation forms, ordering experiences, or survey pages that guide diners through a conversational flow. The platform emphasizes user experience, offering a drag‑and‑drop interface that requires no coding. Pricing starts at $49/month for the Starter plan, which includes 10,000 messages per month and basic analytics. The Professional plan at $99/month adds advanced features such as custom branding, integrations with Zapier and HubSpot, and unlimited messages. Tars does not offer a dedicated knowledge‑base or persistent memory across sessions; conversations are stored temporarily unless integrated with external databases. Tars’ primary advantage is its focus on conversion‑optimized conversational landing pages, which can drive bookings and upsells. However, it lacks the full chatbot ecosystem that includes live chat, AI‑powered responses, and e‑commerce integration found in other platforms. Restaurants looking for an all‑in‑one solution may need to pair Tars with another chatbot provider.

Chatbot.com is a versatile AI chatbot builder that supports multiple channels, including web, mobile, and messaging apps. Restaurants can deploy a chatbot to handle reservations, menu inquiries, and customer feedback across a single interface. The platform offers a visual flow builder, AI chat, and integration with popular e‑commerce and CRM tools. Pricing begins with a Starter plan at $49/month, providing up to 2,000 interactions per month and basic analytics. The Pro plan at $99/month offers higher interaction limits, advanced AI features, and priority support. Chatbot.com does not provide a dedicated WYSIWYG widget editor; instead, it offers a customizable widget that can be embedded with CSS tweaks. The platform lacks a dual knowledge‑base system; it relies on a structured FAQ database and AI prediction. Chatbot.com’s strengths include its channel flexibility and easy integration with existing systems. However, restaurants that require a fully branded, memory‑enabled hosted page or advanced knowledge management may find Chatbot.com less suitable compared to AgentiveAIQ.