Let an AI agent take evening reservation calls and count stock out loud with ChatGPT
Michael Fegent, director of Atticus Hospitality in Sydney, Australia, interviewed by realcommercial.com.au
Someone still oversees bookings during the day, but in the evenings an AI agent takes over reservations (the article doesn't name the tool). ChatGPT handles voice-operated stocktaking, so staff record counts verbally. He has also designed entire venue fit-outs by feeding images he sourced online, along with architectural plans, into ChatGPT.
ChatGPT Free $0; Go $8/mo; Plus $20/mo · Smith.ai free tier with 25 calls/mo ($3/call after) if you try the phone suggestion
Easy · or we do it from $149/mo
ChatGPT, AI reservations agent (not named)
The problem
During busy dinner services staff were tied up taking reservations on the phone, and stocktakes meant walking around with pen and paper, which he says just took forever.
What happened
He says the evening AI agent reduces labour costs and means the team isn't stuck answering phones during busy dinner services, and that talking through stocktakes speeds the process up massively. No dollar or hours figures are given.
Quoted in the source: Michael Fegent, director, Atticus Hospitality. Source: realcommercial.com.au: Smarter kitchens, slimmer margins, how restaurants are using AI and tech to slash costs (Henry Johnstone) (2026-05-12) · Added 2026-10-16.
How to set it up yourself
- What Atticus used: an AI agent that takes reservations in the evenings while a person oversees bookings during the day, and ChatGPT for voice-operated stocktakes and for planning fit-outs from images and architectural plans.
- For a spoken stocktake, open the ChatGPT app, start a chat in a project called "Stocktake" and tap the microphone in the message box. Walk the shelves and say each item, unit and count, then paste the prompt below to turn it into a table.
- Compare the table with last week's count before you order anything, and recount any line that looks off; dictation can mishear numbers.
- For evening calls, first ask your reservations platform whether it has an AI phone feature. A suggestion that isn't what Atticus used: Smith.ai's free AI Receptionist tier (25 calls a month) set to answer after a set hour, give callers your online booking link and take messages for large groups.
Copy-paste prompt
Here is my spoken stocktake for {VENUE NAME} on {DATE}: {TRANSCRIPT OF COUNTS}. Turn it into a table with columns: area, item, unit, count. Keep the counts exactly as I said them and mark anything unclear as CHECK instead of guessing. Then list items below these par levels: {PAR LEVELS, e.g. house red 24 bottles, fries 6 bags}.One short email a day: 3 new AI use cases from real small businesses, each with its source and setup steps, plus a Tool of the Day. Free, no spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Tools used
ChatGPT
General AI assistant for writing, research, brainstorming and analysis.
From Free $0; Go $8/mo; Plus $20/mo; Pro $100/mo (checked 2026-10-14)
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Checked prices: ChatGPT: from Free $0; Go $8/mo; Plus $20/mo; Pro $100/mo (verified 2026-10-14)
Rather not do it yourself?
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