From Setup to Service in an Hour: Kea Launches First Self-Service Voice AI for Restaurants

Today, kea, the restaurant industry’s leading Voice AI employee, launched a first-of-its-kind, self-service Voice AI. Restaurants of any size–not just major chains–can now implement AI-driven phone ordering in as little as an hour. The technology is compatible with most POS systems and seamlessly integrates hundreds of menu items, potential combinations, and customizations. By democratizing access to this fully automated voice technology, kea equips restaurants with a solution for outdated phone systems, empowers staff to focus on customers dining in, and ultimately increases restaurant revenue.

Deploying Voice AI for to-go orders proves to be lucrative, with boosts in Average Order Value (AOV) up to 25%. However, due to implementation time and costs, only major restaurant chains can afford Voice AI technology. Now, kea is lifting that barrier to entry. Rather than charge egregious fees from 20-30% like third-party delivery services, kea offers its self-service Voice AI for a small flat rate and monthly subscription. In effect, mom-and-pop-style restaurants and single-digit store operators can set up AI-driven phone orders easily, quickly, and cost-effectively without needing any tech experience.

“Kea is fundamentally changing how restaurants operate,” remarked Otto Othman, Co-founder of PINCHO. “Digitizing our phone system with AI has given us a leg up. Since starting with kea, PINCHO has more than doubled in store count, and having kea as our dedicated AI phone employee has helped facilitate this growth.”

According to market research, the global Voice AI agents market size is projected to grow from around 2.4 billion in 2024 to 47.5 Billion by 2034. Mirroring this growth, kea itself has doubled the number of restaurants it serves each year, including burger joints like Hopdoddy, pizza chains like Blaze Pizza, and fast-casual restaurants like PINCHO. Now the company is servicing smaller restaurants, including Crust Pizza, Stobys, and Curry Up Now.

“Launching our self-service AI is directly aligned with our mission - to empower restaurant staff with technology that makes their jobs easier,” said Adam Ahmad, Founder and CEO of kea. “Any restaurant operator, no matter their experience with technology, can simply and easily set up our Voice AI in just an hour. Plus, with our consistent upselling features, restaurants can start seeing a boost in sales within days, if not hours from setup.”

Restaurants that want to automate phone ordering can get started with kea’s self-service AI today: https://app.kea.ai/signup/business

About kea

kea is on a mission to empower restaurants by enhancing customer service, streamlining operations, and increasing revenue with human-centered conversational AI. CEO Adam Ahmad founded “The Cashier in the Cloud” in 2017, and kea has since helped independent and growing restaurant brands digitize phone ordering with smart, automated solutions. Using fully autonomous AI, kea customizes, upsells, confirms, and processes orders through a PCI-compliant system. The company has powered over 1,000,000 orders and has raised $29.6M from investors including Marbruck, Xfund, Streamlined Ventures, Deepcore, Heartland Ventures, and Morningside Ventures.

Contact Information

Gabriela Lund

Communications Manager

kea

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