Most of what was written about AI for restaurants a year ago is already out of date. One of the tools this page used to recommend no longer exists. But the biggest change this year is not a better image generator. Guests have started asking AI to find the table for them, and to book it.
This page is the short version of what I would tell an operator over a coffee. It covers what happened this year, what it means for a venue, which tools are worth your time for which job, and the rules that still apply however the content was made. There are four exercises you can do this week and a two-minute quiz at the end. Every news item links to its source so you can check it yourself. Where something is my judgement rather than a documented fact, I say so.
Today's game
The Pass Word
One hospitality word a day, with a clue. Six tries. When you finish, the word turns over to reveal a lesson from the pass, and five bonus words open up.
Today's clue
Short lessons on the numbers in the EDC Academy
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How to play
Read the clue, then guess the five-letter word in six tries. Type a word and press Enter; each tile then shows how close you were.
F is in the word and in the right place.
E is in the word but in a different place.
Dark tiles: those letters aren't in the word at all.
Finish today's word and five bonus words open up, each with its own clue and lesson. Every word comes from the world of restaurants, pubs, cafés and the tools they use.
Previous words and their lessons
The first words will appear here once they have been played.
The briefing
What changed this year
The stories below are the ones that change something for a hospitality business, newest first, each with what it means in practice. This list is reviewed roughly every two weeks; it was last checked on 4 October 2026.
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New since your last visit
ElevenLabs releases Eleven v4, its most expressive voice model yet
The new text-to-speech model follows tone, pacing and emotion more closely, works in more than 90 languages, and can clone a voice from a short recording. It is available in ElevenLabs' agent, creative and developer products.
What it means for you: AI phone agents and voiceovers are getting harder to tell apart from a person. If you use one, have it say it is automated, and never clone a voice without that person's written permission.
Source: ElevenLabs
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New since your last visit
Guests' own AI agents have started making restaurant bookings
NBC News reports on personal AI agents that make reservations and phone calls on someone's behalf, and on hospitality businesses starting to ask who, or what, is actually behind an inbound booking request.
What it means for you: Expect more bookings made by software. Put deposit, cancellation and no-show terms in the confirmation message itself, because the guest who turns up may never have read your booking page.
Source: NBC News
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New since your last visit
Sora is gone: OpenAI switches off the last of its video tool
OpenAI closed the Sora app on 26 April 2026 and ended developer access on 24 September 2026, retiring the Sora brand entirely.
What it means for you: If any of your video workflow relied on Sora, it has stopped. This page used to recommend it; it now points you to tools that still exist. See 'Which tool for which job' below.
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New since your last visit
ChatGPT can now book restaurant tables and join waitlists
Yelp and OpenAI added reservations and waitlists inside ChatGPT, so people can book without leaving the conversation. Yelp says it works with restaurants in the US and Canada. OpenAI has also partnered with Resy and OpenTable.
What it means for you: It is not UK-wide yet, but the direction is clear: the booking happens inside the assistant. Being on a booking platform that these assistants connect to is becoming as basic as being on Google Maps.
Source: Android Authority
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New since your last visit
Midjourney V8.2 becomes the default model
Midjourney's V8 line arrived in alpha in March 2026. V8.2 became the default model on 24 July 2026.
What it means for you: Midjourney is good for mood boards, illustration and concept art for a new site or menu design. It is not a substitute for a photograph of the food you actually serve.
Source: Wikipedia: Midjourney
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New since your last visit
ASA: ads made with AI follow exactly the same rules
The Advertising Standards Authority set out what advertisers need to know about AI and deepfakes. The CAP Code applies whatever tool made the ad. Fake endorsements risk misleading people, and the advertiser stays responsible even when a platform automates the work.
What it means for you: An AI picture of a dish that does not look like what arrives on the plate can mislead, just as a doctored photo would. Use AI on photos of your real food, not instead of them.
Source: Advertising Standards Authority
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New since your last visit
Google's AI Mode now books restaurant tables in the UK
People can describe what they want, such as party size, time, area, dog-friendly or vegan, and AI Mode shows options with real-time availability and booking links. The partners Google names are TheFork, SevenRooms, ResDiary, Mozrest, Foodhub, Dojo, DesignMyNight and OpenTable.
What it means for you: If your availability is not visible through a system like these, AI Mode has no table of yours to offer. That is the most important AI change for venues this year. See the section below.
Source: Google
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New since your last visit
Google launches Nano Banana 2 in the Gemini app
Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) is Google's faster image model. It renders text inside images more accurately, keeps objects consistent across edits, and outputs up to 4K.
What it means for you: This is the tool to try first for tidying your own dish photos and making a poster or menu-board graphic. Proofread every word and price it writes, because a wrong price on a poster is your problem, not Google's.
Source: 9to5Google
Want this in your inbox? The same kind of news, with hospitality and rule changes alongside it, goes out in The Pass every Tuesday.
The round
The fortnightly round: five quick questions
How closely have you been following? Five questions from the news above. Every visit draws a fresh five you haven't answered yet, and a new round arrives every two weeks. After each answer you'll see how other readers did.
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Which Google model is nicknamed Nano Banana Pro?
Show the answer
A: Gemini 3 Pro Image. Nano Banana Pro is Gemini 3 Pro Image, built for high-fidelity image work. Source: Google
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Which menu format is easiest for people and software to read and quote correctly?
Show the answer
C: Text on a web page. Our advice: text on a web page is the easiest thing for a guest or an assistant to read and quote accurately. Source: This page
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What is the safest way to use AI on food photos for your marketing?
Show the answer
B: Edit your real photo but leave the food unchanged. An image of food that doesn't match what arrives can mislead. Edit background and light, never the food. Source: Advertising Standards Authority
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Does UK GDPR still apply when you paste guests' personal details into an AI tool?
Show the answer
A: Yes. Data protection law applies however the data is processed. The ICO publishes guidance on AI and data protection. Source: ICO
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If software may make a booking for a guest, where should your deposit and cancellation terms be?
Show the answer
B: In the confirmation message itself. Our advice: the guest who turns up may never have seen your booking page, so put the terms in the message they receive. Source: This page
More questions from this and earlier rounds
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What did NBC News report personal AI agents are now doing for people?
Show the answer
A: Making restaurant reservations and phone calls. NBC News reported in September 2026 on AI agents making reservations and calls on people's behalf. Source: NBC News
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When did Midjourney V8.2 become the default model?
Show the answer
A: 24 July 2026. V8 arrived in alpha in March 2026; V8.2 became the default on 24 July 2026. Source: Wikipedia
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How long are the videos Google lists for Gemini Omni in the Gemini app?
Show the answer
A: 10 seconds. Google's Gemini Omni page lists 10-second videos, from up to five photos. Source: Google Gemini
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In the Gemini app, which model makes short videos from your photos?
Show the answer
A: Gemini Omni. Google's Gemini app now uses Gemini Omni for video generation, including photo-to-video. Source: Google Gemini
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According to ElevenLabs, how many languages does Eleven v4 support?
Show the answer
B: More than 90. ElevenLabs says both Eleven v4 and v4 Turbo support more than 90 languages. Source: ElevenLabs
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What is Eleven v4, released by ElevenLabs in September 2026?
Show the answer
A: A text-to-speech voice model. ElevenLabs calls Eleven v4 its most emotive text-to-speech model yet. Source: ElevenLabs
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Nano Banana 2 got noticeably better at something useful for posters and menu boards. What?
Show the answer
A: Rendering text inside images. Google highlighted more accurate text rendering. Still proofread every word and price it writes. Source: 9to5Google
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What is the official name of Google's Nano Banana 2 image model?
Show the answer
A: Gemini 3.1 Flash Image. Nano Banana 2 is Gemini 3.1 Flash Image, released on 26 February 2026. Source: 9to5Google
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ChatGPT added table booking through Yelp in August 2026. Where does Yelp say it works?
Show the answer
B: The US and Canada. Yelp says the ChatGPT integration works with restaurants in the US and Canada. It is not UK-wide yet. Source: Android Authority
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Who stays responsible for an ad when an AI platform automates the work?
Show the answer
B: The advertiser. The ASA says automated platforms don't transfer responsibility: the advertiser stays accountable. Source: Advertising Standards Authority
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According to the ASA, do ads made with AI follow different rules from other ads?
Show the answer
B: No, the same CAP Code applies. The ASA's June 2026 guidance says the CAP Code applies whatever tool made the ad. Source: Advertising Standards Authority
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On what date did OpenAI close the Sora app?
Show the answer
B: 26 April 2026. The app closed on 26 April 2026; developer access followed on 24 September 2026. Source: Wikipedia
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What happened to OpenAI's Sora video tool in 2026?
Show the answer
B: It was shut down. OpenAI closed the Sora app in April 2026 and ended developer access in September 2026. Source: Wikipedia
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Which of these is NOT one of the UK booking partners Google named for AI Mode?
Show the answer
C: Deliveroo. Google named TheFork, SevenRooms, ResDiary, Mozrest, Foodhub, Dojo, DesignMyNight and OpenTable. Deliveroo is not on the list. Source: Google
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Since April 2026, which Google feature can book a restaurant table for a guest in the UK?
Show the answer
B: AI Mode in Google Search. Google launched agentic restaurant booking in AI Mode for UK users on 10 April 2026. Source: Google
Your answers and progress are saved only in this browser. When you answer, the choice is counted anonymously so readers can see the totals; no name, email or IP address is stored with it.
The big shift
Guests now ask AI: make your venue bookable by it
Since April 2026, someone in the UK can type “table for two at a dog-friendly Italian in Shoreditch on Saturday at 7” into Google's AI Mode and get a list of places with times they can book. Google names its UK booking partners: TheFork, SevenRooms, ResDiary, Mozrest, Foodhub, Dojo, DesignMyNight and OpenTable.[1] In August 2026 ChatGPT added table booking and waitlists through Yelp for restaurants in the US and Canada, and OpenAI has also partnered with Resy and OpenTable.[5] That is not UK-wide yet, but it shows where things are heading.
An assistant can only offer a table it can see.
The explainer at the top of this page shows the point. An assistant can only offer a table it can see. That makes this mostly an old job — accurate listings, a working booking system, a readable menu — that now matters more than it used to. Here is the checklist I would run:
- Take bookings through a system the assistants can read. If yours is not on Google's partner list above, ask your provider directly whether it is connected to Reserve with Google and AI Mode, and when.
- Keep your Google Business Profile complete and current: opening hours (including holiday hours), booking link, menu link, and recent photos of real dishes. My Google visibility guide goes through it field by field.
- Publish your menu as text on a web page, not only as a PDF or a photo of the board. Text is the easiest thing for a person or a piece of software to read and quote correctly.
- Write down the things people ask about: vegan and gluten-free options, dogs, step-free access, children, large tables, private hire. If it only lives in your staff's heads, nothing online can repeat it.
- Put your terms in the confirmation message. More bookings will be made by software on someone's behalf. Deposit, cancellation and no-show terms belong in the message the guest actually receives.
- Test it yourself with exercise two below, then fix whatever source was wrong. Do it again next month.
Your check
Is your venue AI-ready? Your 12-point check
Answer for your own venue. Anything marked “not yet” turns into your to-do list, with the fix beside it. Your answers are saved in this browser, so come back and tick things off as you go. This is a checklist, not a score of how you will trade.
The toolkit
Which tool for which job
Choose by the job, not the brand. Each card says what the tool is good for in a venue, what to watch, and links to the maker's own page. There are no prices here on purpose. Plans change too often for a page like this to keep up, and several tools have a free tier you can try first. Check the maker's pricing page on the day you sign up.
Photos and graphics
Nano Banana 2 and Nano Banana Pro (Gemini app)
Good for: Editing a photo you took: background, light, crop, colour. Posters and menu-board graphics with readable text.
Watch out: Tell it not to change the food. Compare before and after, and proofread every word and price.
Mood and illustration
Midjourney (V8.2)
Good for: Mood boards for a refit or a new concept, illustration for a menu or website, and short clips animated from a still image.
Watch out: Not for pictures of dishes you sell. Check the commercial-use terms for the plan you are on.
Short video
Gemini Omni (Gemini app)
Good for: Turning up to five of your own photos into a short clip with sound. Google lists 10-second videos and multi-turn editing.
Watch out: Needs a paid Google AI plan, and features vary by country. Start from a real photo of the dish so the clip shows what you serve.
Voice and phones
ElevenLabs (Eleven v4) and AI phone answering
Good for: Voiceovers for menu and training videos. AI phone answering that takes bookings out of hours, if it connects to your booking system.
Watch out: Ask your booking provider which phone agents it supports before you buy one. Make the agent say it is automated.
Writing and admin
ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude
Good for: First drafts of review replies, supplier emails, job adverts, training notes, event copy and rota templates.
Watch out: Never let it be the last word on allergens, licensing or employment law. Don't paste guests' personal details into a free account.
Menu numbers
MenuMargin
Good for: EDC's own menu tool: menu design, food cost tracking, profitability analysis and allergen compliance in one place, so you can see what each dish earns.
Watch out: It is only as good as the recipe costs you put in. Cost your portions first.
Weekend workshop
Try it this week: four short exercises
Reading about AI teaches you very little. Twenty minutes with your own photos and your own listing teaches you a lot. Each exercise below has a prompt you can copy as it is.
1. Tidy a real dish photo 10 minutes
Take a photo of a dish on your phone, at the pass, in daylight if you can. Open the Gemini app, upload it, and paste this:
Prompt
Edit this photo of my dish. Keep the food exactly as it is: same portion size, same ingredients, same garnish, same plate. Do not add, remove or move any food. Only: replace the background with a plain warm-grey surface, soften harsh shadows, correct the white balance so the plate looks white, and straighten the angle slightly. Make it 4:5 for Instagram.
Put the two side by side. If anything on the plate has changed, throw it away and try again. The rule is simple: the guest should get exactly what the picture shows.
2. Ask AI to book you 5 minutes
Open Google, switch to AI Mode, and type what a guest would type. Then try the same in ChatGPT.
Prompt
Find me a table for four near [your area] this Saturday at 7pm. One of us is vegan and we'd like somewhere we can book online.
Write down: did you appear? Was your booking link offered? Were your hours, menu and dietary options described correctly? Anything wrong points to a source you can fix: usually your Google Business Profile, your website or your booking system.
3. Turn tonight's special into a short clip 15 minutes
With a paid Google AI plan, the Gemini app makes short videos from your photos. Upload a real photo of the dish and paste:
Prompt
Animate this photo of my dish as a short vertical video. Slow push-in towards the plate, a little steam rising, warm evening restaurant light, the soft sound of a busy dining room. Do not change the food, the portion or the plate. No text and no people.
Add your venue name, the dish and the price yourself in your editing app, so you control every word that goes out.
4. Reply to a review in your own voice 5 minutes
Paste this into ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude, with the review at the end:
Prompt
Help me reply to a Google review of my restaurant. Write a reply under 80 words in a warm, plain British tone. Thank them by first name, mention one specific thing they said, don't offer anything free and don't argue. If the review raises a problem, acknowledge it and invite them to email [your address] so we can put it right. Here is the review: [paste it here]
Read it out loud before you post it. If it does not sound like you, it is not finished.
The quiz
Allowed or risky? A two-minute quiz
Seven situations I hear about from operators. Decide what you think, then open each card to see the answer. These are practical judgements, not legal advice. If something matters to your business, check the source or ask a solicitor.
You generate a picture of a burger you have not made yet and use it on your delivery-app listing.Reveal
Risky
The ASA judges an ad by what a customer would take from it, not by how it was made.[2] If what arrives does not look like the picture, that can mislead. Use AI images to plan a dish, then photograph the real thing.
You photograph your real dish and use AI to clean up the background and fix the light.Reveal
Generally fine
As long as the food itself is unchanged: same portion, same garnish, same plate. Compare before and after every time.
You clone a well-known chef's voice for a radio ad that “recommends” your restaurant.Reveal
Don't
A fake endorsement is exactly what the ASA's guidance on deepfakes warns about.[2] Never use anyone's voice or likeness without their written permission.
An AI phone agent takes bookings overnight and opens every call by saying it is an automated assistant.Reveal
Fine
That is the way to do it. Callers know what they are talking to, and the booking goes straight into your system. Check how call recordings and caller details are stored.
You paste your full guest list, with names and phone numbers, into a free chatbot to write a mailout.Reveal
Risky
That is personal data, and UK GDPR still applies when the tool is AI.[3] Write the email without the list, then send it from your email platform.
You ask AI to write your allergen information from your recipe list.Reveal
Risky, unless checked
A first draft is fine. The responsibility stays with you, so someone who knows the recipes and the suppliers' labels must check every line before it is used.
You prompt “in the style of” a named, living food photographer.Reveal
Avoid
Describe what you want instead: the light, the angle, the surface, the lens. You get the look without leaning on someone else's name and work.
Last word
What AI still cannot do for you
After two decades running restaurant operations, this is the list I would pin up in the office:
- It cannot taste. It will happily describe a dish it has never eaten. Your menu copy is only as true as you make it.
- It does not know your numbers unless you give it them. Margins, labour and waste come from your tills, your invoices and your rota. That is what menu engineering is for.
- It is confidently wrong often enough that everything it writes needs reading by someone who knows the business: prices, opening hours, allergens, names.
- It cannot run a shift. It can draft the rota and the training notes. It cannot stand at the pass or welcome a regular by name.
Want a second pair of eyes on it?
If you would like me to look at how your venue shows up when someone asks an AI for a table, or to set up any of the tools above around how you actually trade, the services page sets out what that involves and pricing lists what it costs. You work with me directly, not an account manager. Get in touch here. If you prefer to watch rather than read, the EDC Academy has short video lessons on the numbers.
Your questions
Questions operators ask
Which AI tool should a restaurant start with?
Not an image generator. Start with exercise two on this page: ask Google's AI Mode for a table the way a guest would, and fix whatever it gets wrong about you. After that, a general assistant such as ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude for everyday writing and admin, then photo editing on pictures of your real food. Video comes last, and only if you already post regularly.
How much do AI tools cost?
It changes too often to print. Several of the tools on this page have a free tier, and paid plans are generally billed monthly. Check the maker's own pricing page on the day you sign up, and use a tool for a month on a monthly plan before you commit to a year.
Can I use AI-generated food photos on my menu or delivery listing?
Be careful. The ASA has said ads made with AI follow the same rules as any other ad. If a picture shows food that does not match what the customer receives, it risks misleading them, however it was made. The safe approach is to photograph the real dish and use AI only to tidy the photo: background, light and crop, never the food.
Will an AI phone agent work with my booking system?
It depends on the system. Several booking platforms now connect to AI phone answering, so ask your provider which agents it supports before you buy anything. Test it with real calls before switching it on, make sure it says it is automated, and check how recordings and caller details are stored.
Is Sora still available for restaurant videos?
No. OpenAI closed the Sora app on 26 April 2026 and ended developer access on 24 September 2026. For short clips made from your own dish photos, the Gemini app's video tool is the closest replacement, and Midjourney can animate a still image.
Do guests really book restaurants through AI now?
In the UK, Google's AI Mode has offered restaurant booking since April 2026 through named partners including TheFork, SevenRooms, ResDiary and OpenTable. ChatGPT added booking through Yelp for restaurants in the US and Canada in August 2026. I am not aware of a reliable published figure for how many UK bookings come this way. But being bookable by an assistant costs little if your listings and booking system are already in order.
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Sources
Each news item and tool card above links to its own source. These are the other sources used on this page:
- Google, “Use Google Search AI Mode to book restaurants in the UK”, 10 April 2026 — blog.google. ↑
- Advertising Standards Authority, “AI and Deepfakes: Four Things Advertisers Need to Know Before They Hit Run”, 11 June 2026 — asa.org.uk.
- Information Commissioner's Office, “Guidance on AI and data protection” — ico.org.uk.
- Android Authority, “ChatGPT can now help secure your spot at a restaurant”, 10 August 2026 — androidauthority.com. ↑
- Google, “Gemini Omni: video generation” — gemini.google.
Last checked: 4 October 2026. AI products change quickly, so if you are relying on a feature, open the source and confirm it still reads the same way. The photographs on this page are AI-generated illustrations, labelled as such — the same rule the page recommends for your own marketing. Everything not attributed to a source is practical advice rather than documented fact. No booking, revenue or time-saving outcome is promised or implied. Spotted something out of date? Tell me.