What changes compared with the app
Zest, a restaurant-discovery app launched in early 2026, has introduced a personal AI agent that operates via text messages, according to TechCrunch. The user texts the number provided by the startup and receives suggestions built from their own history and that of their friends, without having to open the app. The novelty is not only the channel: the service allows users to complete the next step—checking availability and booking a table through connected services such as OpenTable, Resy and SevenRooms.
Founder and CEO Mario Gomez-Hall told the source that the agent is now the product: it responds based on the user's real data and does not require weeks of conversation to learn preferences. This is a company statement, not independently verified data.
Card data and group use
The app works by linking to users' credit cards to track where they actually eat. Data is imported through financial services company Plaid, which is used by banks and personal finance apps; Zest says it considers only transactions in the food and beverage categories to build personalized maps and lists.
The agent can be added to a group chat, where it combines all participants' tastes, proposes options and organizes a vote in the thread to resolve indecision, then books without leaving the conversation. Users can ask for recommendations by cuisine, craving, occasion, dietary restrictions or neighborhood, as well as information about the venue such as crowding or Wi-Fi availability, and have the menu sent to them. In tests conducted by TechCrunch, the system worked overall adequately, offering suggestions consistent with time, number of people and location.
Revenue and stated prospects
The startup, founded in November 2024 with $1.8 million in pre-seed funding from Alexis Ohanian of 776 and Steve Jang of Kindred Ventures, is betting on the shift to messaging to grow beyond its initial thousands of users and generate revenue. According to Gomez-Hall, bookings and orders are the first revenue lines: today Zest books through OpenTable or Resy, with food ordering coming, and it intends to participate in these transactions.
The manager also argues that Zest learns tastes faster than a generic assistant because it starts from places actually frequented. The company is considering extending recommendations beyond restaurants, toward businesses and shopping. These are announced ambitions: the material does not indicate financial results, booking volumes or a date for expanding the services, elements that remain to be verified.
