Configure Your Store for AI Discovery

When a customer asks an AI assistant "find me a good Thai restaurant nearby" or "order me a burger for pickup", the AI needs to find your restaurant, read your menu, and place the order. Most restaurants are invisible to AI because their data is locked inside closed POS systems. OpenPOS makes you visible by default.

How AI discovery works

OpenPOS follows an open-by-default philosophy. Your public store data — name, address, hours, menu, prices, availability — is accessible via standard APIs without any authentication. AI agents can:

• Find your restaurant — By name, cuisine type, or location.
• Read your full menu — Items, descriptions, prices, variations, modifiers, and real-time availability.
• Check your hours — Know if you're open right now and when you close.
• Place orders — Create a pickup, delivery, or dine-in order on behalf of the customer.
• Make reservations — Book a table for a specific date, time, and party size.
• Join your waitlist — Add the customer to your wait queue.

MCP (Model Context Protocol)

OpenPOS supports MCP, a standard protocol that lets AI agents discover what tools are available and how to use them. When an AI connects to your store's MCP endpoint, it automatically learns how to search menus, place orders, make reservations, and more. No custom integration needed.

Your MCP endpoint is at /api/mcp and supports 40+ tools across every area of your business:

• Discovery — Search stores, get full store context (menu, hours, services) in one call.
• Ordering — Create orders, check status, update items, process refunds.
• Menu — Read menus, check availability, manage 86'd items.
• Reservations & Waitlist — Book tables, join the waitlist, check availability.
• Customers — Look up customer profiles, loyalty status, order history.
• Analytics — Query sales data, item performance, hourly trends.
• Operations — Manage deliveries, locker assignments, staff tasks.

Maximizing AI discoverability

Your store is discoverable automatically, but here's how to make it work even better:

1. Use clear, descriptive menu item names — "Grilled Salmon with Lemon Butter" beats "The Captain's Catch". AI agents use names to match customer requests.
2. Write accurate descriptions — Include key ingredients and dietary info. When a customer asks "do you have vegan options?", the AI searches your descriptions.
3. Keep hours updated — AI agents check your hours before suggesting your restaurant. Stale hours mean missed orders.
4. Enable all relevant order types — If you offer delivery but haven't enabled it in settings, AI agents won't offer it as an option.
5. Keep availability current — 86 items when you run out. AI agents check real-time availability before placing orders.

Why this is a competitive advantage

AI-assisted ordering is growing fast. When ChatGPT, Google, or Apple's AI can find your restaurant but not the one down the street (because they use a closed POS), you win orders by default. OpenPOS makes this possible with zero extra effort on your part.