Kea

What is Kea?

Kea is a voice AI phone agent built for restaurants. It answers every incoming call, takes orders with modifiers, accepts payment and sends tickets directly to the kitchen through the point-of-sale system.

The system reads your menu with an analyser that blocks impossible or out-of-stock items. Staff manage FAQs in a web portal, and reports show calls and recovered revenue. Kea says it has handled over 846,000 calls, and reviews name Blaze Pizza and Hopdoddy as customers.

Key Features

• 24/7 call answering: Kea answers every incoming call day and night with unlimited concurrent calls, so no caller hears a busy tone. Lunch and dinner rushes stop costing orders when staff are busy on the floor.
• POS-connected ordering: Orders with modifiers go straight into Toast, Square, Clover or Olo, and reviews cite 11 or more supported POS systems. Tickets reach the kitchen without staff re-keying anything by hand.
• Menu analyser: Kea checks each order against your live menu and blocks items the kitchen cannot make. It flags out-of-stock items and suggests substitutions, which underpins the vendor’s 99.3 percent accuracy claim.
• Text ordering: Customers can order, ask questions and pay by two-way SMS as well as by phone. One review says SMS ordering launched in late 2025, giving callers an option when they prefer not to wait on the line.
• Payments: Callers pay by credit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or on arrival. Kea says its card saving is PCI-compliant, so prepaid orders are ready to hand over when the customer walks in.
• Delivery and reservations: Kea supports self-delivery and third-party delivery workflows, and reviews say reservations and waitlists are included. One phone agent can cover takeaway, delivery and booking calls for the same site.
• Multi-location management: Bulk editing lets groups update settings across sites, and Kea says it supports 50 or more locations. FAQs can be set at brand or location level, so each branch keeps its own hours and details.
• Call reporting: Dashboards and daily SMS summaries show calls handled and revenue captured. Managers can spot trends in customer questions and adjust FAQs from the web portal without contacting support.

Pros

• Restaurant focus: Kea is built around menus, modifiers and POS flows rather than general reception work. Orders arrive structured for the kitchen, which general-purpose AI receptionists are not designed to do.
• Flat pricing: Kea advertises a flat monthly fee with no per-order or overage charges. Busy sites can take unlimited calls, orders and texts without the bill rising during peak months or promotions.
• Fast setup: The company says activation can take about 30 minutes, and one review reports menu setup in under 15 minutes. Restaurants can test the service without a long implementation project.
• Fewer missed orders: Unlimited concurrent calls mean peak-time callers get through instead of hanging up. Kea says it has handled over 846,000 calls, which suggests the system already runs at real volume.
• Reservations included: Reviews say bookings and waitlist handling come in the base plan. Sit-down restaurants get more than an ordering bot for the same flat fee, with no separate booking add-on to buy.
• Spam filtering and languages: One review says Kea filters spam calls and supports multiple languages. Staff spend less time on nuisance calls, and customers who prefer another language can still place an order.

Cons

• Pricing not published: The pricing page asks you to submit business details for a quote. Kea’s own article cites about $350 a month while directories report $450 per location, so budgeting needs a written quote.
• Vendor-reported stats: The 99.3 percent accuracy figure comes from Kea and is not independently audited. Test it on your own menu during onboarding before relying on it during the busiest service periods.
• Contract terms: Reviews say annual contracts are typical for Kea. Restaurants that want to trial the service month to month should confirm the minimum term and cancellation rules before signing.
• Narrow channel scope: Kea focuses on phone and text, which is narrower than multi-channel ordering platforms. It also suits order calls better than long, complex conversations, so some calls may still need staff.
• Setup can run longer: One review notes that complex menus may need a few extra days beyond the advertised timeline. Large menus with many modifiers should allow time for test orders before going live.

Who is Using Kea?

• Pizza and quick-service chains: They capture peak phone orders.
• Independent restaurants: They avoid hiring phone staff.
• Multi-location groups: They standardise answers and menus across sites.
• Restaurants taking reservations: Reviews say bookings and waitlists are supported.

Pricing

Kea charges a flat monthly fee with unlimited calls, orders and texts (checked October 2026).

Several directories cite $450 instead, so the article may be outdated. Ask Kea for a written quote and contract length first.

What Makes Kea Unique?

Order accuracy checks set Kea apart from general receptionist bots. Its menu analyser checks each order against live POS data. Because orders land in Toast, Square, Clover or Olo, staff never re-key anything.

Compatibilities and Integrations

• POS systems: Toast, Square, Clover and Olo, with reviews citing 11 or more.
• Channels: Inbound phone calls and two-way SMS ordering.
• Payments: Credit cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay.
• Management: Web portal for FAQs, voices and reports.

Kea Tutorials

Most restaurants go live in a short onboarding session.

1. Book a demo on kea.ai and share your call volume.
2. Connect your POS so Kea can import the menu.
3. Set hours, FAQs and payment options in the portal.
4. Forward your phone line and place test orders.
5. Check reports weekly and adjust FAQs.

How We Rated It

Summary

Kea suits restaurants that lose orders because nobody can answer the phone at peak times. The main limitation is that list pricing is not published clearly. Ask for a trial on one location and compare recovered orders against the monthly fee.