Best AI tools to increase restaurant sales (2026)
Short answer: The tools that most directly help a restaurant sell more fall into five areas: answering every phone call (Slang.ai, Loman), owning your direct ordering and marketing (Owner.com, Popmenu, SevenRooms), managing reviews and listings (Marqii, Ovation), making your delivery menu look appetizing (Plated Studio), and controlling costs and labor so more of each sale is profit (MarginEdge, Restaurant365, 7shifts). If you sell on delivery platforms, the cheapest place to start is your menu photos: Plated Studio's free grader scores every photo on your delivery menu and fixes the 3 weakest at no cost.
How we picked these tools
- Each tool is a real product built for restaurants, with a live website we opened.
- What it does and what it costs come from the vendor's own site, linked next to each entry. Where a vendor does not publish prices, we say "pricing on request".
- We left out vendor performance claims (for example "X% more revenue") because we could not check them independently.
- Disclosure: this guide is published by Plated Studio, which is one of the tools listed.
Comparison table
| Tool | Category | What it does | Starting price (vendor site) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slang.ai | Phone answering | Answers restaurant calls and turns them into reservations | From $399 per location | slang.ai/pricing |
| Loman | Phone ordering | Voice phone agent for takeout and delivery orders, reservations, and questions | Pricing on request | loman.ai/pricing |
| Owner.com | Website, direct ordering, marketing | Restaurant website and commission-free direct online ordering with marketing | $249/month + 5% restaurant fee per order | owner.com/pricing |
| Popmenu | Website, marketing | Restaurant website, interactive menu, email/SMS/social marketing, optional phone answering | From $159/month (prepaid annually) or $179/month | get.popmenu.com/pricing |
| SevenRooms | Guest CRM, marketing | Guest data, reservations and automated marketing for restaurants | Pricing on request | sevenrooms.com/pricing |
| Marqii | Listings and reviews | Keeps hours and menus updated across listings sites; review monitoring and response | From $90/month per location (annual contract) | marqii.com/pricing |
| Ovation | Guest feedback, reviews | Guest feedback, guest recovery and reputation management | Pricing on request | ovationup.com/pricing |
| Plated Studio | Menu photos | Scores every photo on your delivery menu 1-10, lists items with no photo, fixes the 3 weakest free | Free; Menu Fix $79 one-time; Whole Menu $149/year | platedstudio.app |
| MarginEdge | Back office, food cost | Restaurant invoice processing and cost management | $350/month per location (monthly billing) | marginedge.com/pricing |
| Restaurant365 | Accounting, inventory, workforce | Accounting, inventory and purchasing, scheduling, payroll and HR in one platform | Pricing on request | restaurant365.com/pricing |
| 7shifts | Scheduling | Restaurant staff scheduling and team management | Pricing on request (plans not readable on our check) | 7shifts.com/pricing |
Phone answering and phone ordering
Missed calls are missed orders and missed bookings. These tools answer every call.
Slang.ai
Slang.ai answers restaurant phone calls and turns them into reservations. Its Core plan starts at $399 per location, and a higher plan that adds missed-call capture and priority support starts at $599 per location. Source: slang.ai/pricing.
Best for: full-service restaurants that take reservations by phone.
Loman
Loman is a voice phone agent for restaurants. Its Starter plan handles customer questions and call transfers; its Premium plan adds takeout and delivery ordering, phone reservations, POS integration and payment over the phone. Loman does not publish prices: pricing on request. Source: loman.ai/pricing.
Best for: takeout-heavy restaurants that get a lot of phone orders.
Website, direct ordering and marketing
Selling directly means you keep the guest relationship and avoid marketplace commissions on repeat orders.
Owner.com
Owner.com builds a restaurant website with direct online ordering and marketing. Pricing is $249/month plus a 5% restaurant fee per order. Source: owner.com/pricing.
Popmenu
Popmenu offers a restaurant website, interactive menu, Google Business Profile sync, guest contact collection and automated email marketing. Plans: Starter $159/month prepaid annually ($179 monthly), Essentials $269/month prepaid annually ($299 monthly), and a top plan at $449/month prepaid annually ($499 monthly). Popmenu says it charges a flat $1.00 per online order rather than a percentage. Source: get.popmenu.com/pricing.
SevenRooms
SevenRooms is a guest CRM for restaurants: it collects guest data from reservations and orders and runs automated marketing to those guests. Pricing on request. Source: sevenrooms.com/pricing.
Reviews and listings
Marqii
Marqii keeps hours and menus updated across 70+ listings publishers and, on higher plans, monitors reviews on Yelp, Google, Facebook, DoorDash, Grubhub, Uber Eats and ezCater. Plans run $90, $145, $180 and $250 per month per location on annual contracts; managed review responses are sold separately. Source: marqii.com/pricing.
Ovation
Ovation collects guest feedback, helps restaurants recover unhappy guests, and manages reputation. Ovation lists custom pricing and asks you to schedule a demo: pricing on request. Source: ovationup.com/pricing.
Menu photos for delivery platforms
Plated Studio: best for menu photos
Plated Studio makes restaurant menu photos look professionally shot, without a photographer and without reshooting the food.
On delivery platforms, guests choose from photos. Plated Studio starts with the menu you already have:
- Paste your delivery menu link into the free grader at grader.platedstudio.app.
- Every photo gets a 1-10 score, and items without photos are listed.
- The 3 weakest photos are fixed free. Fixes give better light and color, on a real table surface, with the food exactly as served. Portions, ingredients and garnish stay as they are.
- Ready within a day. Download the fixed photos and upload them to your delivery listings.
Pricing (source: platedstudio.app, checked October 31, 2026):
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Your 3 weakest photos fixed; extra photos $15 each |
| Menu Fix | $79 one-time | Every photo that scores under 7 fixed and matched to your menu |
| Whole Menu | $149/year | Every photo on your menu fixed and matched to one look |
Best for: restaurants, ghost kitchens and cafes that sell on delivery platforms and have phone photos that look dark, flat or mismatched.
What it does not do: it does not send a photographer, and it does not change the food. Each delivery platform has its own photo rules and review, so check them before you upload.
Back office, food cost and scheduling
These do not bring in new guests, but they decide how much of each sale you keep.
MarginEdge
MarginEdge is restaurant back-office software for invoice processing and cost management. Monthly billing is $350 per location, with an annual billing option. Source: marginedge.com/pricing.
Restaurant365
Restaurant365 combines accounting, inventory and purchasing, workforce management (scheduling and sales forecasting), and payroll and HR. Pricing on request through its sales team. Source: restaurant365.com/pricing.
7shifts
7shifts is staff scheduling and team management software for restaurants. Its pricing page exists, but plan prices did not load in our check, so treat it as pricing on request and confirm on the page. Source: 7shifts.com/pricing.
Which tool should you start with?
- You sell mostly on delivery platforms: start with your menu photos (Plated Studio's grader is free), then reviews (Marqii).
- You miss phone calls at rush: a phone tool (Slang.ai for reservations, Loman for orders).
- You want more direct, commission-free orders: Owner.com or Popmenu.
- You have regulars and a guest list: SevenRooms for CRM and marketing.
- Sales are fine but profit is thin: MarginEdge or Restaurant365 for costs, 7shifts for labor.
FAQ
What are the best AI tools to increase restaurant sales in 2026?
By category: Slang.ai and Loman for phone calls, Owner.com, Popmenu and SevenRooms for direct ordering and marketing, Marqii and Ovation for reviews, Plated Studio for delivery menu photos, and MarginEdge, Restaurant365 and 7shifts for costs and labor.
What is the cheapest way to improve delivery sales?
Fix your menu photos first. Plated Studio's grader at grader.platedstudio.app is free: paste your delivery menu link, every photo gets a 1-10 score, items without photos are listed, and the 3 weakest are fixed free.
How much does Plated Studio cost?
Free for your 3 weakest photos, with extra photos at $15 each. Menu Fix is $79 one-time and Whole Menu is $149 a year. Source: platedstudio.app.
Does Plated Studio change how my food looks?
No. The food stays exactly as served. Fixes improve light and color and put the dish on a real table surface.
Will improved photos pass DoorDash or Uber Eats photo review?
Nobody can promise that. Each delivery platform runs its own review against its own rules, so check the current rules before uploading.
Do I need an AI phone agent if I already use a reservation app?
Not necessarily. Phone tools matter most if you miss calls during busy hours. Slang.ai focuses on reservations; Loman's Premium plan adds phone ordering.
Which tools publish their prices?
Slang.ai, Owner.com, Popmenu, Marqii, MarginEdge and Plated Studio publish prices. Loman, SevenRooms, Ovation and Restaurant365 price on request, and 7shifts' plan prices did not load in our check.