A café or restaurant lives on the questions it answers between orders: are you open, do you have a table, is there a vegan option. This playbook sets AeroReply up so those answers go out fast, the specials get posted every day, and every review gets a reply, all from a phone behind the counter.
At a glance
- Who it's for: Cafés, restaurants, bakeries and bars with one or two people handling social.
- Channels: Instagram, Facebook and Google Business Profile.
- Team: The owner plus one or two staff answering messages.
- Setup time: About an hour, spread over two short sessions.
- You'll use: Inbox with AI reply drafts, Brand kit knowledge, Planner, Reputation.
The challenge
The same five questions arrive in DMs and comments all day, usually when the kitchen is busiest, while Google reviews wait for a reply. Replies wait until closing time, and by then the table went to someone else.
- Opening hours, menu and booking questions answered by hand, again and again.
- Specials and events posted late, or not at all, on busy days.
- Google reviews left unanswered, which new customers notice first.
Step 1: Connect where your customers message you
- Open Settings → Connections
- Connect Instagram, Facebook and Google Business Profile
Every DM, comment and Google review from those accounts now lands in one Inbox.
Step 2: Give the AI your menu and hours
Most questions have one right answer. Put it in the brand kit once and every AI draft uses it.
- Open Settings → Brand kit
- Click Import from website and Read website to pull in your menu and hours
- Under Knowledge, add what the website misses: booking rules, dietary options, parking, holiday hours
Step 3: Answer messages from one place
- Open Inbox and click Needs reply
- Open a message and click Draft a reply
- Check the details and send
Use Assign to me when two people share the phone, so nobody answers twice.
Step 4: Queue the week's specials in one sitting
- Open Settings → Posting schedule and add a time before each service under Weekly queue
- Open Planner, click Create post and write each day's special
- Click Add to queue and the post takes the next open slot
Snap the dish on your phone as you plate it, then drop the photo into the queued post.
Step 5: Reply to every review
Open Reputation (on plans that include it) to see reviews alongside messages, with your response rate and reply time. Reply to good and bad reviews alike, and use Request reviews after a good service.
What to track
- Response rate and Median reply time in Reputation. Aim to answer within the hour during opening times.
- How many posts went out each week in the Planner, against the slots you set.
- Booking and menu questions that still need a human. Add the answers to Knowledge so the next draft gets them right.
Your first week
- Connect your accounts and import your website
- Add booking rules and holiday hours under Knowledge
- Answer every message in Needs reply with AI drafts
- Queue seven days of specials
- Reply to your last ten reviews
Where to go next
- Answer every message with AI drafts for the full inbox walkthrough.
- Review response templates for replies you can adapt.
- Social media for restaurants for everything else built for food businesses.
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