The adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology leads to process automation, reduced expenses, and streamlined workflows. The restaurant industry leverages AI-powered solutions to improve dining experience and boost profits. Instead of bloating the staff, establishments implement AI systems and, with legacy CRMs, expedite the ordering process, handle complaints, simplify booking, and perform other tasks to increase client satisfaction. At first, food businesses started to utilize AI to achieve a consistent cash flow and personalized customer experience (CX). However, gradually, the number of use cases has increased. In this guide, we will analyze how to implement AI in restaurants to increase the efficiency of business operations.
How to Use AI in Restaurants?
Integrating AI solutions with CRM and ERP software enables fine-dining establishments, canteens, and other businesses to personalize their marketing efforts and predict the demand for specific meals. Large language models (LLMs) are designed to analyze huge data sets and provide insights about consumer behaviors.
The advancements of generative AI and smart kitchen technologies are predicted to open more opportunities for making AI an integral part of dining services. From cooking delicious meals to keeping the inventory in order, algorithms have many applications in the industry. Let’s consider the most notable examples of utilizing AI in restaurants.
1. Phone support
Creating a large call center is hardly a feasible option when a company can implement AI-driven solutions to provide replies to client queries using voice technology. Virtual assistants accept phone calls 24/7, contributing to a positive brand image. According to statistics, 83% of people will opt for another restaurant if they get redirected to voicemail. This is why answering phone calls is crucial to increase conversions.
Dining establishments increasingly often implement AI to provide detailed responses to clients and describe the peculiarities of the booking process in detail. Voice assistants also provide recommendations and review the available offerings. Their ability to analyze the context, remember past conversations, and generate relevant responses makes them invaluable for ventures that want to implement phone support and utilize upselling opportunities.
2. Voice orders
With 40% of all people who look for restaurants online using voice search, it becomes necessary to integrate AI-driven assistants with traditional websites to expand outreach. Due to voice ordering solutions, now it is possible to book a table or order takeout on the go using a mobile device and choose the most suitable payment and delivery options.
3. Self-service features
As many clients prefer to specify the details of their orders and make payments via kiosks, drive-throughs, and other similar options, companies started to cater to their needs and expanded the list of self-service options. Nowadays, one can split a check with friends, pay from special tablets, or utilize ordering kiosks. The latter support facial recognition technology and provide tailored recommendations to customers.
By streamlining the ordering process, restaurants increase profits. An AI menu can be integrated with POS solutions to maximize ROI. Employees pre-program digital menus so that specific items are promoted automatically. Besides, such tools facilitate collecting data and avoiding ingredient shortages.
4. Advanced point-of-sale systems
Integrating inventory management and purchasing software in a complex infrastructure enables restaurants to analyze historical data, identify trends, and get notified when they should replenish their supplies. It ensures that they will have enough ingredients to cook a trendy dish and won’t have to deal with excess food that expires before it is used. Using automated solutions, geolocation data, and predictive analytics tools, entities enhance dining CX and simplify operations.
5. AI forecasting
AI tools track sales information to identify the time when the demand drastically increases. It prevents understaffing and facilitates restaurant management. Scheduling shifts becomes easier. Due to the usage of LLM-based bots restaurant businesses perform advanced traffic analysis. The usage of forecasting tools enables employees to predict what dish will be in high demand at a specific time of day. The ability to anticipate rush hours lets businesses reduce wait times by 30 seconds on average.
6. Kitchen assistants
Collaborative robots utilize AI helping staff members to expedite the cooking. Businesses integrate such solutions to avoid overstaffing and make the work experience more enjoyable. Robotic kitchen assistants are extremely intuitive and have high ROI. Some are capable of assembling bowls by following simple instructions from the recipes.
7. AI-driven computer vision
Machine vision (MV) technology makes it easier to avoid excessive food waste, analyze traffic, implement quality and safety standards, and optimize processes to diminish expenses. MV will let restaurants control the process of preparing an order and automatically send alerts to employees to notify them about possible mistakes. This technology facilitates onboarding and empowers ventures to minimize food waste.
The integration of AI services is instrumental in reducing expenses and achieving sustainable growth. MetaDialog builds powerful LLMs designed to handle large volumes of client queries. The company’s chatbots automate up to 87% of conversations within one hour.
Main Steps to Implement AI in Restaurants
Even though every establishment has unique requirements and priorities, AI solutions help all of them expedite their workflows, minimize turnover, enhance CX, and build a strong brand image. Follow these guidelines to successfully integrate AI tools with legacy systems:
- Train employees: The usage of AI and machine learning in restaurant industry requires specific skills. Staff members should learn how to leverage AI with maximum efficiency. AI-based ordering programs take care of basic tasks allowing employees to focus on more challenging operations.
- Build scalable products: By personalizing an LLM and fine-tuning its performance, restaurants streamline procedures, upgrade POS systems, and offer omnichannel support.
- Utilize change management practices to improve ROI: Using chatbots for restaurants to gather insights about clients’ preferences, deploying robotic assistants to streamline kitchen tasks, and leveraging AI to enhance the quality of customer service are result-yielding approaches that enable businesses to flourish.
MetaDialog builds advanced support systems based on custom AI models. They empower businesses to increase customer satisfaction by 28% and increase the productivity of their teams by five times.
Benefits of Using AI in Restaurants
The reluctance of some dining businesses to implement AI is caused by common fears regarding data privacy, high investment cost, and regulatory compliance issues. Nonetheless, some brands were quick to recognize the key advantages of AI for restaurants:
- Personalized dining experience: By lowering prices and devising unique offerings for long-term clients, businesses encourage patrons to visit their establishments. Besides, restaurants can further incentivize their clients by devising loyalty programs.
- Streamlined workflows: Waitstaff utilizes AI-powered apps to monitor refills, estimate when patrons are ready to pay, and perform other tasks. Managers use AI to organize shifts and control inventory with ease.
- Relevant recommendations: The usage of AI in restaurants allows employees to help clients choose meals. Establishments of all kinds create digital menus containing comprehensive information about meals and ingredients. The usage of such tools allows marketing professionals to collect insights.
- Detailed analysis of repeat customer behaviors: Face recognition technology allows companies to identify customers, analyze their preferences, and cater to their needs. However, collecting such data requires getting consent.
- Increased satisfaction: Collecting data about issues with orders, including undercooked food, late deliveries, or making mistakes with orders allows restaurants to solve issues affecting CX. AI tools facilitate the development of fact-based strategies helping clients address the concerns of unhappy customers.
- Streamlined order processing: By automating this routine operation, companies help employees focus on more creative tasks and fully dedicate themselves to improving the dining experience. It also allows marketing professionals to collect information about orders and use it to develop result-yielding marketing strategies.
- Anticipating the needs of the target audience: Predictive AI tools facilitate analyzing client wishes and forecasting changes in demand.
- Reduced staff: The significance of AI for restaurants lies in the fact that it allows business owners to save money and avoid overstaffing. Due to task automation, chefs expedite routine procedures and focus on cooking unique meals.
- Minimizing energy usage: AI-based lighting systems allow restaurants to spend less money on utility bills. It helps companies minimize their carbon footprint, achieve sustainability, and establish closer relationships with people who share the same values.
- Creating unique menus: Personalization may involve using different menu items, prices, and discounts. Restaurants adopt this strategy to maximize their outreach and increase revenue.
- Digitizing recipes: AI tools allow businesses to create knowledge bases containing information about cooking techniques.
Summing up, using AI in restaurants means streamlining processes, optimizing ingredient usage, avoiding food waste, and improving client satisfaction.
Perspectives of Using AI in Restaurants
The deployment of AI solutions in dining establishments opens new perspectives for businesses, allowing them to scale up. Even though the adoption of the technology is hindered by monetary concerns and mistrust in its efficiency, many companies have started to recognize its potential. Building and deploying LLMs requires significant investments. However, outsourcing this task to a reliable service provider allows restaurant owners to enjoy the technology’s benefits at a fraction of the cost.
Monitoring the development of machine learning trends is necessary to get a cutting edge over competitors. Establishments use AI in restaurants to increase their gains and automate workflows. MetaDialog develops powerful algorithm-based systems that allow business owners to streamline processes, reduce wait times, and enhance dining experience. Get in touch with our team now and discover how to leverage AI to boost your profits.