Unified messaging for restaurants: Heep, the AI host

A guest writes on Instagram at 7:45 pm, another on WhatsApp in the middle of the rush, a third emails at midnight, and the phone rings into the void. Each channel has its own inbox, and nobody has time to check them all. That is the problem a unified messaging inbox for restaurants tries to solve: gather the messages in one place and answer quickly, even when the team is on the floor.

Heep is an AI host for restaurants and hotels that māhie recommends and deploys. This article describes what Heep does, according to its public website, channel by channel: messaging, missed calls, bookings inside messages, groups, follow-ups, reviews and analytics. The figures quoted are those announced by Heep, presented as such, with their calculation basis.

Note: Heep is an evolving product. The features and integrations described here are those on heep.ai at the time of writing; confirm with Heep what applies to your venue.

Unified messaging: WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and email in one inbox

Heep gathers messages received on WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and by email into a single inbox. An AI replies to guests, and your team stays in control.

What this covers, according to Heep's website:

• Instagram: replies to direct messages, and a thank-you for every story mention.
• Emails: handled like other messages, with forwarding by topic to the right person.
• Website widget: a chat bubble connected to the same AI as the other channels.
• SMS and iMessage: listed among the supported channels.
• Mobile app: iOS and Android.

The practical benefit is twofold, and it shows most during service, when nobody can stop to check a phone. The guest gets an answer on the channel they chose. The team no longer opens four apps to find out whether someone is waiting. For the AI to answer correctly, it relies on a memory: what it knows about your venue. Heep flags the questions it could not answer, so you can complete that memory.

Before putting an AI in front of your guests, prepare a few things:

• The basics: opening hours, address, access, cancellation policy, allergens, vegetarian options, private dining;
• The tone: formal or informal address, level of formality, signature;
• The cases to hand to the team: complaints, severe allergies, special requests, anything you do not want handled automatically;
• An owner who reviews conversations during the first weeks and completes the memory.

For the role of AI in the dining room and at the host stand, also read AI in the dining room with SevenRooms and Heep.

Heep announces that on average 55% of messages arrive during service or when the restaurant is closed, and that 97% of conversations are resolved without the team (see the figures section below for the calculation basis).

Missed calls: a message goes out right away

An unanswered call is often a lost booking. According to Heep, every missed call receives a WhatsApp message, or an SMS if the number is not on WhatsApp. The guest can then reply in writing, and the conversation follows the same path as other messages.

A missed-call message works best when it is short, names your restaurant and gives the guest an easy next step: reply with a date and a party size, or book online. If your reservation link is already on your website, include it. Check wording and timing with your team before switching it on, so the first message a guest receives sounds like you.

Heep also offers Heep Phone, presented as new: a Heep number, call forwarding and transcribed voicemails.

One point to watch: the message sent after a missed call should remain a reply to that call. For rules on SMS and email prospecting, see our article on emailing and GDPR. For WhatsApp, the platform's policy requires the recipient's permission before you message them.

Bookings directly inside messages

The guest asks for a table in the conversation. According to Heep, the AI checks availability and books directly in your reservation software. The systems named on the site are Zenchef, SevenRooms, TheFork, Ee-table, OpenTable and CoverManager.

In practice, this avoids the usual back-and-forth ("For how many? What time? I'll check and get back to you"). The booking lands in the tool your team already uses, instead of a message to retype. If you use SevenRooms, Heep integrates with it: the two tools complement each other. To see how AI can help fill quiet periods, read filling slow services with AI.

Groups, private dining and multiple venues

Group requests are often the most valuable and the slowest to handle, because they need several details before anyone can quote. Heep routes each request to the right person by group size and, according to its site, qualifies it: date, budget, number of covers, contact. The team receives an already structured request.

For restaurant groups:

• One account for all addresses, each venue with its own memory and its own tone.
• Cross-sell between venues: when one restaurant is full, Heep suggests a table at another address in the group.

Heep also integrates with CRMs: Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, GetPax and monday.com. GetPax is the CRM for private dining and groups developed with māhie's clients; a summary of the tools is on our tools page.

Automatic follow-ups and guest reviews: day before, day after, inactive guests

Heep sends messages at specific moments of the guest journey:

• A reminder the day before the booking;
• A review request the day after the visit;
• A follow-up to inactive guests, meaning those you no longer see (not those who have already booked);
• One-off WhatsApp marketing campaigns, with SMS fallback.

Three method points to keep these follow-ups useful and compliant:

• Separate service from marketing. A booking reminder is a service message. A campaign or a reactivation is prospecting and requires individuals' consent.
• One message, one reminder. Repeating is annoying and raises the risk of being blocked.
• Measure. Note your no-shows, unanswered calls and returning guests before you start, then compare after a few weeks. Without that baseline, you cannot tell what the tool changed.

To decide which automations to set up and in what order, see 5 automation scenarios for a restaurant.

Guest reviews: a drafted reply for every review.

According to Heep, a reply is drafted for each review received on Google, TripAdvisor or TheFork, and published when you decide. You therefore keep control over what is posted under your venue's name.

Heep drafts; you decide when to publish. An AI that drafts does not replace your judgement on delicate reviews: read the replies to negative reviews, and never let an apology go out that you could not stand behind. The basics of replying to a review are in how to respond to Google reviews.

Analytics, copilot and figures announced by Heep

Heep offers a dashboard tracking bookings, covers and recovered calls, with a stated measurement scope. A copilot lets you configure Heep and ask numerical questions in natural language, and a WhatsApp companion lets Heep write to you and you reply.

Here are the figures Heep announces on its site. They are Heep's figures, not māhie's, and must be read with their calculation basis:

• on average 312 saved bookings and €80,400 generated per venue per year;
• 97% of conversations resolved without the team;
• 55% of messages received during service or when the restaurant is closed;
• more than 100,000 missed calls recovered by message each year, at the current rate.

Calculation basis stated by Heep: a reading from 24 August to 23 September 2026 (1,151 bookings, 4,368 covers, 8,733 missed calls), multiplied by 12. Test conversations are excluded, and cancellations and no-shows do not count in revenue.

These averages are therefore one-month extrapolations, calculated across all venues. Your results will depend on your message volume, your current response rate and how you manage bookings. Measure your own before committing.

Heep unified messaging: frequently asked questions

Need help deploying Heep?

Setting up unified messaging is as much an organisational topic as a technical one: who answers what, what the AI must know, which messages go out automatically. māhie recommends and deploys Heep.

• Scope your channels, your reply rules and what must always go through the team;
• Connect Heep to your reservation software, your CRM and your messaging channels;
• Fill in the venue's memory with your hours, your menu and your rules;
• Set up follow-ups (day before, reviews, inactive guests) in line with GDPR;
• Track results with you, using your own figures.

Discover Heep and our Automation & AI offer, then contact māhie.