AI-powered takeaway tool to help local restaurants tackle rising costs
Adelaide restaurants Amalfi Pizzeria Ristorante and Rocco’s Pizza will be among the first to adopt an AI-powered takeaway tool that reduces costs, minimises missed calls, and saves staff time in bustling restaurant environments.
The tool, called DineLine AI, was developed in Adelaide and is designed to take phone calls and deliver orders to kitchens automatically.
The tool can learn a business’s menu and remember the orders of regular customers to ensure orders are taken and fulfilled efficiently.
In addition, developers claim it can speak almost any language fluently, allowing customers to order in their native language.
Co-owner of Amalfi Pizzeria Ristorante Frank Hannon-Tan acted as a consultant for DineLine, bringing with him 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry.
He focused on how the product could “best help business owners claw back a bit of revenue that takeaway platforms are taking from venues at the moment”.
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The hospitality landscape is increasingly dominated by multi-national delivery platforms like Uber Eats and DoorDash which charge businesses commission fees of more than 30 per cent, making it increasingly difficult to turn a profit.
At just $3.50 per hour to run during business hours and with no commission fee, Hannon-Tan called DineLine a great tool to help businesses retain profits.
By using an AI tool to answer phone orders, staff are free to prepare dishes and serve in-house customers, ensuring that the business is running smoothly and everybody gets their food as quickly as possible.
“In the context of a restaurant where I can’t employ anybody for a shorter period than two hours, I need to manage those staff and keep control of my labour costs,” said Hannon-Tan.
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The tool uses a Large Language Model to speak to customers in natural language, built on a platform developed by OpenAI, the company behind major AI tools like ChatGPT.
This collaboration enabled a small team of South Australian developers to put the tool together in just 18 months.
Ownership over customer data – including names, phone numbers and orders – is retained by the business, not by DineLine.
Hannon-Tan noted that this was unlike many delivery platforms, which will often retain customer data and not forward it to the business at all.
“That is, from my point of view, disingenuous,” he said.
Adelaide Lord Mayor Dr. Jane Lomax-Smith, speaking at Amalfi in support of local business, said the tool had the potential to help city restaurants thrive in a challenging economic climate.
“We know how tough it can be to make ends meet in hospitality, and this is technology that is going to make a positive difference at an affordable price,” she said.
The tool is popping up in restaurants across Adelaide, with aims at a global release in the future.
