Online ordering and delivery

Online ordering now runs on several channels at once: the restaurant's own website, Google, a branded app, and delivery marketplaces such as DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub. Each channel brings different guests and different costs, and the work is keeping menus, prices and sold-out items the same everywhere while orders reach the kitchen without being typed in twice.

Direct ordering tools put ordering on your own website and app. Guests pay you directly, you keep their contact details for marketing, and you avoid per-order marketplace commissions, though you still pay for the software and payment processing, and for delivery drivers if you offer delivery.

Marketplaces bring reach. People already browse those apps, so a listing there finds guests who would never visit your website. The cost is a commission on each order and less control over the guest relationship. Many restaurants use both and price menus differently on each.

Order aggregators sit in the middle. They pull orders from every delivery app into one tablet or straight into the POS, and they push menu changes out to all of them at once. If your counter has a row of tablets that chirp all evening, this is the category that removes them.

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7 AI restaurant tools in online ordering and delivery

Square Online

by Block, Inc.

Website and online ordering from Square that syncs menus and orders with a Square POS.

Free plan or free tier

ChowNow

Online ordering for a restaurant's own website and branded app, as an alternative to taking every order through marketplace apps.

Owner.com

Website, online ordering, branded app and automated marketing for independent restaurants, set up as one package.

Olo

Online ordering and order management platform for larger restaurant brands, with delivery dispatch and payments.

Developer API

BentoBox

Restaurant websites with built-in online ordering, gift cards, catering and event inquiries.

Otter

Pulls orders from delivery apps into one tablet or the POS, with menu sync across apps and delivery reports.

Deliverect

Connects delivery apps and online ordering channels to the POS, with menu management and order routing across channels.

Developer API

AI shows up here as upsell suggestions in the ordering flow, automated marketing to past customers, and menu photo and description help. Judge those features by what they do to your average order and repeat rate during a trial.

Before you choose, check POS integration, how menus sync and how often, which payment methods guests can use, and how delivery is dispatched if you don't run your own drivers.

Packaging and timing deserve as much thought as the software. Orders that sit on a shelf while a driver is late arrive cold, and the guest's review lands on your own listing. Ask how each tool quotes ready times, whether it can pause ordering when the kitchen is slammed, and how it lets you mark items as sold out from the line in seconds. Check, too, how refunds and order disputes from marketplaces are decided and charged back to you.

Catering is worth a separate question. Large group orders need lead times, deposits, delivery windows and setup notes, which a standard ordering page often handles badly. BentoBox and several POS ordering modules include catering forms; ask how each tool you shortlist takes and schedules them.

Questions about online ordering and delivery

Should I use my own online ordering or the delivery apps?

Most restaurants use both. Direct ordering keeps more of each sale and gives you the guest's contact details. Delivery marketplaces bring guests who would not find you otherwise. Many owners promote direct ordering to regulars and keep marketplace listings for discovery.

How do I stop re-typing delivery app orders into the POS?

Use an aggregator such as Otter or Deliverect, or the delivery integration built into your POS. They send marketplace orders into the POS and kitchen and sync menu changes back out. Check your POS is supported first.

Can I offer delivery without my own drivers?

Yes. Several direct ordering tools, including ChowNow and Olo, can dispatch orders to on-demand delivery drivers for a fee per delivery. Ask who handles complaints about late or wrong orders and how refunds are charged back.

Is Olo suitable for a single restaurant?

Usually not. Olo is built for multi-location restaurant brands with digital teams. A single independent restaurant will normally find ChowNow, Owner.com, BentoBox or the ordering built into its POS a closer fit.