5 Ways AI is Transforming Restaurant Businesses in 2021

Peter John
5 min readJun 9, 2021

Many restaurants are turning to order aggregators, kitchen robotics, and contactless delivery in this era. Have you ever thought, what’s the next phase of restaurant technology?

Yes you guessed it right, the emerging Restaurant Artificial Intelligence trends are going to change the ways of customers and restaurants interactions.

The artificial intelligence in the food and beverage market value was USD 3.07 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach USD 29.94 billion by 2026 at a CAGR of over 45.77% worldwide.

Machine learning and AI are the irreplaceable revenue driving sources in restaurant chains around the world. However, many restaurants have reached huge success with Artificial intelligence and others are in early stages of making the best out of it.

What is AI and How is it used in the Restaurant industry?

AI uses machine learning algorithms to analyze every data and delivers the right insights which will be appropriate for that situation. Artificial intelligence is the best way to offer personalized solutions as it can review that customer’s past orders, and identify their interests.

The use of Artificial intelligence in the restaurant industry can transform the way you interact with customers and scale faster than ever. Let’s discover how AI is playing vital out in the restaurant industry.

1. Voice Ordering To Get Smarter And Better

Voice ordering

Since 2019, McDonalds innovators have been testing out new technologies and AI-powered kiosks to enhance their ordering experience. They have not just acquired one, but two of the popular artificial intelligence startups.

From the customer’s view, they are experiencing the same ordering experience they’re familiar with. As it includes a simple ordering process by just checking out the complete menu. But McDonalds finds it reduces the need for an active team in all the driveway.

Artificial intelligence cuts down the work of employees and manages their activities. Some other pioneers like Taco Bell, KFC, Domino’s, and Wingstop have also adopted similar AI-powered voice tools across the globe.

Domino’s Group CEO and Managing Director Don Meij said, “technology has provided customers with peace of mind, a particular advantage during the challenging COVID-19 environment, where food safety and hygiene is paramount”.

Many restaurants are testing out voice ordering using smart assistants, like Siri and Alexa. Though they are different from static chatbot scripts, they have similar functionalities like McDonald’s drive-thru tech or TextAI. All these technologies offer a completely personalized and dynamic ordering experience for customers.

2. AI-Powered Recipe Ideas

Recipe ideas

Mass spectrometry technology is changing the lives of Chefs and R&D departments to deliver hit recipes, and innovative recipe ideas in restaurants.

FoodPairing is a Belgian food startup company which analyzes various types of foods, and uses machine learning algorithms to identify unique flavor matches. Most of their flavours are very unique but give top notch recipes to recreate.

For example, pairing raspberries with tomatoes gave a unique recipe. Chefs and R&D departments are fond of this Food Pairing concepts and believe it can scale faster growth by:

  • Building a brand with AI-enhanced menu items and increasing their prices for exclusive dishes
  • Reduce food costs by replacing costly ingredients with best and cost effective local alternatives

3. Smart Robots To Cook And Serve Food

Cooking Robots

AI powered robot chefs are taking restaurant businesses to a whole new level. Miso Robotics, who are the pioneers of adapting cooking robots, are constantly testing out new opportunities.

“Now he moves like a ninja and is more reliable, “says David Zito, the CEO of Miso Robotics, which created Flippy. Flippy is an automated AI software that can cook french fries and burger patties automatically without any pre-programmed recipe.

Basically, it will analyze all the ingredients in real-time and make temperature adjustments in the cooking process. The software used in Flippy can be installed to any stove or grill and analyze the ingredients as they cook. This software can even notify when the specific burger patty is getting overcooked.

4. AI Text Ordering Is Way Beyond

AI based text ordering

Text Ordering is not a new trend in the restaurant industry. Not only in restaurants, text ordering was in account across various industries but it’s functionalities are severely limited. Both customers and restaurants find it slightly frustrating to keep up with their functionalities.

For instance, Domino’s Pizza, an early pioneer to this technology, manages to create a smooth ordering experience by restricting their customers from “Easy Order” options.

With AI, text ordering is so efficient and doesn’t restrict customers with just one or two ordering functions. As a result of it, customers can access all your functionalities and enjoy the full menu experience.

5. AI Marketing Predictions

Marketing predictions

Artificial Intelligence can make marketing simple without any complications emerging and this trend is gaining importance in recent times. Using AI, you can easily test out the promotions, offers and other discounts.

For instance, these technology advancements can predict the foreseeable economic effects and plan marketing strategies accordingly. Similar tools can be used to optimize social networks for publications which can harvest multiple customer interactions as possible.

Final Remarks!

Leveraging artificial intelligence in restaurant businesses can take some time as it requires a big data collection and organization for an AI to perform. But it’s all worth your time, as AI can boost your sales by creating personalized, seamless, and convenient ordering experience for customers.

For this, you just need a team of professional experts to set up this complicated database easier. Focus your energies on learning how to apply from what you’ve learned in this article to achieve great success.

Originally published at https://www.shopurfood.com.

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Peter John

Digital marketing specialist at Pofi Technologies Pvd Ltd.