Documentation
AI Control Center
The AI Control Center tabs, what Zesty AI includes on each plan, how AI actions are charged from credit, and how Autonomy tools are gated by plan.
AI Control Center is where owners and managers see and steer Zesty AI: the overview, Ask, forecasts, invoice scanning, feedback, activity, autonomy, loss prevention, Locations and network benchmarks. It opens at AI Control Center in the web navigation.
Zesty AI is an add-on paid from Zesty credit. No base plan includes AI, and the QR menu plan cannot add it.
Turning AI on
- Top up Zesty credit in Settings → Billing → Add-ons & credits.
- Switch on the AI assistant add-on. This switches on the AI modules your plan's Zesty AI brings.
- Optionally set a monthly budget for it.
When you move up a plan, the AI modules the new plan adds are switched on too.
What Zesty AI includes on each plan
The AI add-on is cumulative: each plan's Zesty AI includes everything from the plan below.
| Plan | Zesty AI adds |
|---|---|
| Basic | Assistant, owner brief, Ask (questions about your data in plain words), invoice and document scanning |
| Silver | Forecasting, prep lists and purchase-order drafts |
| Gold | Operational agents, feedback themes, predictive kitchen timing, insights across Locations |
| Enterprise | Network benchmarks and supplier comparisons |
| QR menu | No Zesty AI |
The tabs
AI Control Center shows only the tabs your Zesty AI includes. A link straight to a hidden tab shows which plan it is on (for example "… is on Enterprise") with See plans.
| Tab | What it shows | From |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | AI usage and what is switched on | Basic |
| Ask | Ask a question about your sales or stock and get an answer with its sources | Basic |
| Forecast | Expected demand for the coming days | Silver |
| Invoices | Scan a supplier invoice or receipt into a draft | Basic |
| Feedback | Themes from guest feedback | Gold |
| Activity | What AI ran, when, and why | Basic |
| Autonomy | How much each AI tool may do on its own | Basic |
| Loss prevention | Unusual voids, refunds and adjustments | Silver (needs Analytics) |
| Locations | Comparisons across your Locations | Gold |
| Network | Benchmarks against comparable restaurants | Enterprise |
Each tab shows why it could not load: locked by plan, missing permission, out of credit, or a real failure with Retry.
How AI is charged
- Each AI action is 5 credits from your Zesty credit (1,000 credits = 200 AI actions). There is no monthly fee and no monthly allowance.
- An action is reserved when it starts and charged only when it finishes. A failed action is refunded.
- Answers Zesty works out without the AI model, such as a plain sales chart, are not charged.
- The daily owner brief is always sent. Its written summary costs one AI action; with no credit left, the brief goes out without it.
- The chat and the Overview tab show "Each AI answer uses 1 AI action from your Zesty credit" with about how many actions your balance has left.
A workspace that Zesty has granted AI to directly sees "N of M AI actions left this month" instead. Every AI action is either paid from credit or counted against that allowance.
When credit runs out, or the AI budget is reached, AI answers stop and say so, with a link to Add-ons & credits for anyone who manages billing. Ask and Invoices show this inline.
Autonomy
Every AI tool starts at Suggest. Promote one when you trust what it drafts:
| Mode | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Suggest | Zesty drafts, you do the work |
| Approve | Zesty drafts, you one-tap |
| Auto | Zesty acts, you can undo |
Autonomy is set for the organization, and a Location can override it. Each step is reversible, and Activity shows what ran and why.
Each tool needs a part of Zesty AI that your plan includes:
| Tool | Needs |
|---|---|
| Publish the owner brief | Basic Zesty AI |
| Apply a recipe draft (never Auto) | Basic Zesty AI |
| Publish a prep list | Silver Zesty AI |
| Create a purchase-order draft (never Auto) | Silver Zesty AI |
A tool your plan lacks shows On Silver (or the plan that has it) and cannot be switched on. A purchase-order draft is never sent to a supplier by AI.
Treat AI as advice
AI answers and drafts are guidance. Check them against live orders, stock and reports before acting on money, staffing or suppliers.