22:35Machine-translated from Azerbaijani by AIRead in Azerbaijani
Zest Unveils AI Assistant That Finds Restaurants and Books Tables via SMS
“Zest” launched its personal restaurant assistant, which works via SMS, on Thursday. The AI-powered service finds restaurants that match the user’s tastes, checks table availability, and makes reservations without requiring the user to leave the conversation. To use the service, users simply need to send a message to (212) 470-6067. There is no need to open a separate app.
Founded in November 2024, “Zest” has raised $1.8 million (approximately 3.06 million manats) in seed funding. Alexis Ohanian’s “776” fund and Steve Jang’s “Kindred Ventures” participated in the funding round. The service connects to the user’s bank card to determine which restaurants they have dined at. Payment data is obtained through the “Plaid” system. Only food and beverage spending is considered when creating personalized recommendations. The AI assistant suggests options based on cuisine type, the purpose of the occasion, dietary restrictions, and neighborhood. Users can ask how crowded a restaurant is and whether it has Wi-Fi, as well as request the menu. The assistant can also be added to a group chat. It combines the participants’ tastes to find a suitable venue. After a vote is held in the chat, it can book a table for the entire group.
Reservations are completed through services such as “OpenTable,” “Resy,” and “SevenRooms.” “Zest” can narrow down the options based on the time of day, the number of people in the group, location, and other criteria. The company began testing the restaurant assistant last month but delayed the service’s launch because the reservation feature was not ready. Users can now view available times directly in the conversation and confirm their selection. With the new service, “Zest” plans to reach a broader audience beyond its current several thousand users and generate revenue. Its initial revenue sources will be table reservations and orders. A food-ordering feature will be added later. The company does not want to limit its recommendations to restaurants in the future. Its plans also include other businesses and suitable places to shop.
Founded in November 2024, “Zest” has raised $1.8 million (approximately 3.06 million manats) in seed funding. Alexis Ohanian’s “776” fund and Steve Jang’s “Kindred Ventures” participated in the funding round. The service connects to the user’s bank card to determine which restaurants they have dined at. Payment data is obtained through the “Plaid” system. Only food and beverage spending is considered when creating personalized recommendations. The AI assistant suggests options based on cuisine type, the purpose of the occasion, dietary restrictions, and neighborhood. Users can ask how crowded a restaurant is and whether it has Wi-Fi, as well as request the menu. The assistant can also be added to a group chat. It combines the participants’ tastes to find a suitable venue. After a vote is held in the chat, it can book a table for the entire group. Reservations are completed through services such as “OpenTable,” “Resy,” and “SevenRooms.” “Zest” can narrow down the options based on the time of day, the number of people in the group, location, and other criteria. The company began testing the restaurant assistant last month but delayed the service’s launch because the reservation feature was not ready. Users can now view available times directly in the conversation and confirm their selection. With the new service, “Zest” plans to reach a broader audience beyond its current several thousand users and generate revenue. Its initial revenue sources will be table reservations and orders. A food-ordering feature will be added later. The company does not want to limit its recommendations to restaurants in the future. Its plans also include other businesses and suitable places to shop.