Gaston: The AI Assistant for Restaurants that Creates Your Menu by Voice

In the bottom right corner of the dashboard, you will see the Gaston icon, represented by a floating chat button. Click to open the conversation window.

The chat interface opens as a sidebar where you can type messages or use the microphone to dictate voice commands. Gaston supports the languages available in IAMenu and normally responds in the language you use.

The chat maintains the history of conversations. You can create multiple conversations and pick up where you left off at any time.

On mobile, the Gaston icon floats over the dashboard in the bottom right corner. Tap to open the chat in full screen.

The mobile interface is optimized for touch interaction: a text field at the bottom with a microphone button for voice input. You can talk to Gaston while moving around the restaurant, from the kitchen, or at any time.

Create Categories and Subcategories

• "Create a category Pizzas with subcategories Classics and Gourmet" — Gaston creates the category and both subcategories in one step (2 internal turns)
• "Add subcategory Vegan within Pizzas" — Creates within the existing category
• "Merge Reds and Whites into a subcategory Wines" — Uses merge_sections to combine

Create Products (3 types)

• "Add Margherita at 10 euros in Classic Pizzas" — Normal product (within subcategory)
• "Create a chef's dish Special Paella at 18 euros in the category Rice" — Product in category (direct, without subcategory)
• "Create loose product Menu of the Day at 12 euros" — Loose product (visible throughout the menu)

Batch Creation

• "Create 5 beers: Mahou 3 euros, Estrella Galicia 3.50, Heineken 4, Paulaner 5 and Guinness 5.50 in Drinks" — All products in one message
• "Duplicate the category Pizzas as Summer Pizzas" — Complete copy with all products

Gaston shows you confirmation before executing changes. The dashboard updates automatically upon confirmation.

From mobile, you can use the microphone button to dictate voice commands:

• "Create category Desserts" — Gaston creates it and shows you confirmation
• "Add Tiramisu at 7 euros in Desserts" — The product automatically appears in your menu
• "Create a loose product called Menu of the Day at 12 euros" — Visible throughout the menu

After confirmation, you will see the new product directly in your mobile dashboard list without needing to refresh the page.

Try these commands to generate images with artificial intelligence:

• "Generate image for Tiramisu" — Creates a single professional photo
• "Generate images for all products in Meats" — Batch generation
• "Create overhead style photos for desserts" — With specific style

Gaston will ask you for the style before generating. The 4 photographic styles available are:

Batch generation works in groups of 5 products. Gaston will ask you "Shall I continue with the next 5? (8 remaining)" so you can control the process. You can change the style between batches: start with professional and switch to overhead halfway through.

Each image goes through an automatic optimization pipeline: GPT Image generates the photo and iaMenu automatically optimizes it in various WebP sizes for maximum loading speed on the customer view.

You can also enhance existing photos with enhance_image: upload an amateur photo of your dish and the AI transforms it into a professional photograph with studio lighting.

From mobile, you can also generate images with AI:

• "Take a photo of the Margherita Pizza" — Generates individual image
• "Generate photos for all dishes in Appetizers" — In batches

The process may take a few seconds per image. You will see the progress indicating how many have been generated. You can continue using the chat while they are being generated.

Commands to generate descriptions with gastronomic copywriting AI:

• "Generate a description for the Sirloin with Whisky" — Classic style, medium length (by default)
• "Describe the Valencian Paella in poetic style and long" — Specific style and length
• "Generate descriptions for all products in Main Dishes" — In batches with bulk_generate_descriptions
• "Generate descriptions for the subcategories of Wines" — Subcategory descriptions with bulk_generate_section_descriptions
• "Generate descriptions for all categories" — Category descriptions with bulk_generate_category_descriptions

The 4 available styles are:

Each style comes in 4 lengths: short (15-20 words), medium (30-40), long (60-80), and very long (100-120 words).

Gaston also detects products without descriptions and alerts you: "List all products without descriptions" and then "Generate descriptions for all."

On mobile, dictate the command by voice or type it:

• "Describe the Mushroom Risotto" — Generates quick description
• "Generate short descriptions for the entire category Appetizers" — In batches
• "Which products do not have a description?" — Detects incomplete content

The generated description is saved directly in the product. If translations are enabled, review the translated versions in the active menu languages before publishing.

Translation commands:

• "Translate the entire menu to French" — Activates the language and translates all content
• "Translate the Desserts category to English, German, and Italian" — Multiple languages at once
• "What languages are active in my menu?" — Status inquiry

The translation uses GPT-4o-mini with gastronomic context. Review culturally specific dish names, ingredients, and regional terminology before publishing.

The Smart Swap system helps place source and translated content in the appropriate language fields when you create content in a supported language. Check the result before publishing.

From mobile, you can activate translations by voice:

• "Translate everything to English" — Starts the complete translation
• "Add German to the menu languages" — Activates language and translates existing content

You will see a progress bar in the top banner indicating how many products remain to be translated. The process is automatic and you can continue working while it completes.

To import your menu from PDF:

1. Open Gaston's chat
2. Type "Import my menu from PDF" or drag the PDF file into the chat
3. Gaston analyzes the document with Vision AI, detecting categories, products, prices, and descriptions
4. He shows you a preview of what he is going to create with all the detected data
5. Confirm and all products are automatically created in your dashboard

Import speed depends on the file size, layout, image quality, and number of products. Gaston prepares a structured preview so you can correct names, prices, and categories before creating the menu.

The Vision GPT-5.1 model can read text in images, complex price tables, menus with multiple columns, and even handwritten menus. For best results, use PDFs with legible text and good resolution.

On mobile, you can upload the PDF directly from your gallery or device files:

1. Open Gaston and tap the file attachment icon
2. Select the PDF of your menu (you can also scan with the camera)
3. Gaston processes it and shows you the detected products
4. Confirm to create everything in your dashboard

The import works especially well with printed menus you have scanned or PDFs from your printer.

Move Entities (3 functions)

• "Move the Tiramisu to the subcategory Special Desserts" — move_product between subcategories
• "Move the subcategory Soft Drinks to the Drinks category" — move_section between categories
• "Move the category Pizzas to the Dinner menu" — move_category between menus

Duplicate Entities (4 functions)

• "Duplicate the Margherita as Margherita with Truffle" — duplicate_product with new name
• "Duplicate the subcategory Classics as Specials" — duplicate_section with all products
• "Duplicate the category Pizzas as Summer Pizzas" — duplicate_category complete
• "Duplicate the Main menu as Summer Menu 2026" — duplicate_menu with all content

Reorder (3 functions)

• "Put the Drinks category first" — reorder_categories
• "Put Red Wines before Whites" — reorder_sections
• "Sort the products in Pizzas by price from lowest to highest" — reorder_products

Advanced Reorganization

• "Increase the price of all Meat products by 10%" — bulk_update_prices with percentage
• "Deactivate all Soup products" — toggle_availability for seasonal menus
• "Merge Reds and Whites into a subcategory Wines" — merge_sections combines products
• "Put the categories Coffees, Soft Drinks, and Beers inside Drinks" — convert_categories_to_sections automatically converts them into subcategories

Gaston always asks for confirmation before executing bulk changes that affect more than 10 products, showing exactly how many items will be affected.

The same bulk operations are available from mobile:

• "Deactivate the entire Salads category" — For seasonal changes
• "Move the Tiramisu to Special Desserts" — Move individual product
• "Sort Drinks by price" — Quick reordering
• "Duplicate the Main menu as Summer Menu" — Complete clone

Ideal for chefs who need to update the menu from the kitchen without sitting at the computer.

Information Queries

• "Which products contain gluten?" — Filter by allergen
• "How many products do I have in total?" — get_menu_stats with complete statistics
• "What is the most expensive product?" — Search by criteria
• "List all products without images" — Content audit
• "Which products do not have a description?" — list_products_without_description to detect incomplete content
• "Show vegan products" — Filter by marketing label
• "Are there mislocated products?" — Gaston analyzes your menu with gastronomic knowledge and detects wines in the coffee section or desserts among the appetizers

Dish Suggestions with AI

• "What dishes can I create with what I have?" — suggest_dishes_from_ingredients analyzes your current ingredients and suggests new dishes WITHOUT buying anything else
• "What ingredients should I buy to expand the menu?" — suggest_dishes_with_new_ingredients recommends new ingredients with estimated ROI

The suggestions include dish name, recommended price, difficulty level, and which ingredients from your menu are reused. Gaston acts as a culinary consultant who knows your kitchen.

From mobile, use voice for quick queries:

• "Which dishes do not have a photo?" — To complete your menu
• "How many categories do I have?" — Quick overview
• "Are there products without a price?" — Quality control
• "Suggest new dishes" — Ideas based on your ingredients

Perfect for a quick review before opening the restaurant each day.