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The rising costs from National Insurance Contributions (NICs), wage rises, and reduced levels of business rate reliefs have presented many restaurant owners with a daunting task: drive tangible increases in business growth, productivity and revenue, while saving costs.

The hospitality industry is facing challenging times so it is essential that operators can adapt, finding streamlined ways to work while maintaining first class customer service. Investigating avenues for growth are requiring creativity and tenacity. One area that is on the rise is the use of AI-powered voice automation systems, something that 94% of UK restaurant operators have stated they believe is necessary to remain competitive.

One restaurant owner in Yorkshire has recently introduced One Touch, an AI-powered automation system that is helping them to deliver revenue goals whilst also delivering exceptional customer experience.

Matthew Burton is the owner of Cuban-inspired tapas and grill Qubana which is in a 19^th century old bank building on Wood Street in Wakefield and includes a private dining room in the former bank vault. Along with his wife Jen, they also run Fino Pizzeria and Cicchetti located on Northgate Wakefield on Northgate in a Grade II listed building that dates back to 1596. The duo have been impressed with the user-friendly AI system that is being used to take restaurant bookings, freeing up time for his staff to focus on customer service during busy periods and improve operational efficiencies.

Matthew Burton, Qubana explains:

“The hospitality sector is being squeezed with all the current financial pressures so it’s important to identify new opportunities to assist growth. We’ve worked with Craig and David at One Touch before on the Home Dining app we introduced and were excited to learn more about the AI-powered automation system. Maintaining a personal touch is important to me so we didn’t want to launch something that would take away a key part of our business success. This technology uses an automated front-of house receptionist ‘Millie’ to interact with customers.

Over 60% of our bookings are made over the phone but during busy periods calls can often be missed. ‘Millie’ takes the calls and is the best receptionist we’ve had. She can understand and process booking requests, check information such as allergies and immediately sends through the confirmation booking. She even knows how to upsell and answers the phone 24/7. The booking process takes minutes and it’s proving to be highly effective. It frees up the time of my team so they can concentrate on serving customers and providing first class service. If someone wants to speak to a ‘real’ person this is also still possible, so we’ve got the best of both.

When we tested out the system with our staff and customers many didn’t realise they were speaking to an AI system and we’re finding our customers are embracing this.  It’s working for both us and consumers. Using experience-enhancing technology is improving our front-of-house experience and increasing bookings. I believe AI will become a staple in UK restaurants.”

One Touch was launched by restaurant tech entrepreneurs Craig Pollock and David Downs, One Touch has received investment from Andrew Pennock, former COO of Veezu, bringing together a powerful combination of market expertise and knowledge. ‘Millie’ effortlessly takes table bookings 24/7, requests food delivery and handles customer queries. It integrates into the restaurant’s table booking software and uses natural language processing (NLP) and seamless real-time voice interactions, handling both in-hours and off-house calls to ensure a booking opportunity is not missed.

Craig Pollock, Director at One Touch added:

“Working with Matthew and Jen at Qubana and Fino has been great. They share our vision and recognise the benefits of One Touch. It’s helping them to drive productivity and deliver improved experiences for both consumers and their staff. We’re talking to a number of restaurant owners who are interested in implementing One Touch and our target is to have Voice AI in over 5,000 restaurants across the UK by the end of 2026.”