AI For Restaurants

Recently this year, Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools have taken the industry by storm. In fact, it is becoming an essential ingredient for success in many restaurants. To most people, what comes to mind when it comes to AI is robots cooking in the kitchen or manning the whole restaurant. But guess what? It’s already happening and the possibilities aren’t stopping anytime soon.

AI is much more than just a robot kitchen. It collects data in various forms and in heavy volume, turning that into complex algorithms that can respond to its user’s needs and queries. Machine learning is also a part of AI which tracks customers’ habits of buying—making customer surveying a lot easier. 

How can AI change the restaurant industry?

Technology in all forms is becoming an integral part of a restaurant’s operation. Some common ways AI can transform the industry include;

• Reduce human errors: Customers getting the wrong dishes or bills is one of the many common human mistakes that can happen. With AI, there’s less chance of an order being misheard as it’ll be taken via an online platform. 

• Customize orders: AI allows customers to have more control over their overall dining experience–from customizing dishes to ask for a private space.

• Cut costs: Since most operations will be automated on a single platform, restaurants can cut expenses on staffing, menu printing, and even inventory.

• Customer experience: Streamlined operations allow staff to place more focus on giving customers the best dining experience possible. 

• Finding new customers: This technology can boost the restaurant’s marketing efforts by identifying and reaching out to potential customers that might love the dishes the restaurant offers.

Another common use of AI in many other businesses is writing. For example, ChatGPT by OpenAI offers creative copies of menu descriptions. Users can prompt it by highlighting certain elements needed for the description—like ingredients, restaurant theme, culinary techniques, and so on. In turn, an elaborate copy that captivates all of the elements prompted will be produced. 

While independent restaurants are slowly leveraging this technology, franchises like Domino’s Pizza in New Zealand are using drones to deliver pizzas to customers, while Subway is installing its first ‘smart fridge’ in a university in California.  

Approaching the topic of AI can be intimidating, especially for the less tech-savvy restaurateurs. However, this technology is only going to rise from here, creating endless possibilities for the industry to utilize and benefit from.