Asking about your business
Restodesk AI is an add-on. See What's included, and what's an add-on.
What makes a good question
Three things, and the third is the one people forget.
- A period. "Last week", "this month", "the last 30 days". Without one, the assistant has to guess.
- A subject it can see. Sales, orders, items, categories, tax, refunds, cancellations, delivery apps, reservations, kitchen delays, inventory usage. See What the assistant does.
- One thing at a time. A question with three parts gets an answer that half-covers each.
Questions that work
Sales
- What were my total sales last week?
- How did this month compare to last month?
- Which day of the week is busiest?
- What's my average order value this month?
Menu
- What were my top ten items last month?
- Which items sold fewest in the last 30 days?
- Which category brings in the most revenue?
- How many of the sea bass did we sell last week?
Problems
- How much did we refund last month, and what were the top reasons?
- How many orders were cancelled this week?
- Which items get removed from bills most often?
- Which dishes take longest to leave the kitchen?
Delivery
- How much commission did we pay to delivery platforms last month?
- How do platform orders compare to our own delivery?
Operations
- How many reservations do we have this week?
- Which ingredients are we using fastest?
- How much tax did we collect last quarter?
Questions that won't work
| Question | Why not |
|---|---|
| "Cancel order 42." | It reads; it doesn't act. |
| "Change the price of the burger." | Same. |
| "What should I charge for a steak?" | It can't see your costs or your market. |
| "Is my rent too high?" | Not something it can see. |
| "Why were we quiet on Tuesday?" | It can tell you that you were quiet. It can't tell you why. |
| "How's business?" | Too vague to produce anything useful. |
The pattern: it answers what happened, not why, and not what to do.
Getting more out of an answer
Follow up in the same conversation. Context carries, so "and the month before?" works after a question about this month.
Narrow when it's vague. "Top items" gets you a list. "Top items by revenue, last 30 days, food only" gets you something you can act on.
Ask for the comparison directly. "Compare this month's sales to the same month last year" is better than two separate questions you then compare yourself.
A sensible way to use it
The assistant is best as a first pass, not a final answer.
A pattern that works:
- Ask a broad question to find where to look. "How did last month compare to the month before?"
- Follow the thread. "Which categories dropped?"
- Then open the report for the detail you'll act on.
It's fast at finding the interesting question. The reports are where you confirm the answer.
Checking before you act
For anything that changes a decision — cutting a dish, a conversation with a member of staff, a figure going to your accountant — open the report and check.
Not because the assistant is unreliable, but because a misread period or an ambiguous question produces a confident-sounding wrong number, and you can't tell from the answer which you got.
Use it to find things. Use the reports to be sure.
Watching your tokens
Usage counts against a monthly limit from your package, shown on screen.
To make it last:
- Ask specific questions. Broad ones produce long answers.
- Use shorter periods when a shorter period will do.
- Don't re-ask what a report shows in one click.
Good to know
- Conversations are saved, so you can return to one.
- It reads the branch you're working in — switch branches for a different location.
- Suggested questions on the chat screen are a good place to start.
- If it's unavailable, check with whoever administers your account — see Getting support.
Next
The AI section is done. Next: a map of every settings screen.