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SoundHound AI Inc., a provider of artificial intelligence-based voice technology apps, unfolded its voice commerce strategy in the hotly competitive restaurant market with the introduction of an in-vehicle, artificial intelligence-based reservations agent.
The reservation system, developed with restaurant-reservation platform OpenTable Inc., connects drivers to a network of more than 60,000 restaurants worldwide to check seating availability and make reservations in real-time.
To make the system work, SoundHound says it has partnered with several automotive companies such as Stellantis to embed its technology in vehicle infotainment systems. Drivers can activate the system by voice command or by touching a prompt on the vehicle’s infotainment system. Once the ordering system is activated, drivers can use voice prompts to search for restaurants and make reservations.
The reservation system provides restaurants with a new booking channel, especially for on-the-go consumers looking for a last-minute reservation, Santa Clara, Calif.-based SoundHound tells Digital Transactions News.
The in-vehicle reservation system builds on SoundHound’s strategy to bring voice- enabled commerce to vehicles, which helps businesses improve customer service, the company adds. Last month, SoundHound introduced an in-vehicle voice AI parking agent with Parkopedia, which enables drives to search for parking spaces in more than 20,000 cities globally.
In 2024, SoundHound introduced an in-vehicle voice ordering system for restaurants.
In related news, restaurant point-of-sale specialist SpotOn Transact LLC has released its 2026 Independent Restaurant Profit Outlook. The report provides a roadmap aimed at helping restaurants navigate rising costs and unpredictable customer traffic.
One finding in the report is that restaurants should follow a profit strategy when planning their menu. A profit-first approach helps restaurants devise menus that convey value to consumers and helps boost and protect profit margins. Restaurants can then use analytics to determine which items are best sellers and which items to drop, how to right-size portions to protect margins, and properly price each menu item. Such menus can help increase customer traffic, boost average check size, and help engender customer loyalty, SpotOn says.
Adding non-alcoholic and low-alcohol drinks are another way restaurants can diversify their menus, especially as sales of alcoholic beverages soften, the report says. The addition of non-alcoholic and low-alcohol drinks provides customers more choice and more ways for restaurants to protect beverage margins.
Artificial intelligence is another technology tool restaurants can use to improve operating efficiencies in such tasks as designing more efficient labor schedules, flagging anomalies in sales, cost of goods sold, labor, and pre-reconciling employee payouts.
