Zest launches an AI agent that finds restaurants and books by text

What is changing?

Restaurant discovery app Zest has launched a personal AI concierge that works without opening a separate app. Users can text a cuisine, neighborhood, occasion, dietary restriction or atmosphere preference, and the agent recommends options based on real restaurant visits by the user and their friends. The service is free and works on iPhone and Android without requiring the app.

When added to a group chat, the agent can blend participants’ tastes, put options to a vote, check availability and book a table through connections to OpenTable, Resy and SevenRooms. Zest also answers questions about menus, busy times, Wi-Fi and what to order. Linking a card is optional; the company says only food-and-drink transactions are used as recommendation context.

The launch is a concrete example of conversational agents moving from suggestions to completing transactions. Personalization quality, fair handling of group preferences, booking errors and card-data processing still need to be evaluated in real use.