Operating and growing a restaurant is challenging. If you are a single location or a national chain, you need to be thinking about the impact of new AI tools to stay competitive. Many of these are new, so we’ve compiled a list to help you stay ahead of the curve.
So why should you consider new AI technology?
1. Save money due to rising labor costs
2. Streamline operations for scaling or franchising their business
3. Providing a better, more consistent, customer experience
Did you know? Nearly 60% of operators in a recent National Restaurant Association report anticipate increased use of technology and automation in 2023!
Here’s a breakdown of the AI landscape:
1. Voice AI for Phone Calls
2. Marketing and Customer Engagement
3. Predictive Analytics
4. Recruitment and Employee Retention
5. Menu Development
6. Drive Thru and Kiosk Ordering
Voice AI is the fastest growing category of AI tools for restaurants.
AI models, including ChatGPT, have made conversational AI technology available for all restaurants large and small.
But what would a restaurant want to replace a live person with an AI receptionist?
First, to provide a better customer experience. If you're a full service restaurant, you can avoid having callers placed on hold, calls missed, and wrong information provided by new staff members.
It also frees up staff time to provide diners in your restaurant more attention.
And avoids negative Google Business reviews! (here’s an example)
But what about impacting sales?
Many of these platforms will text callers links for ordering or making a reservation. This way if a call is missed, the customer won’t go call the next restaurant in the list on Google.
Some also offer marking tools for retargeting callers.
Here’s our list of the best Voice AI tools in the industry right now:
timeshark.ai
Who is it best for? All Types
TimeShark.ai offers an AI receptionist for restaurants that supports reservation making, pickup, and delivery orders, and answers any questions live over the phone.
The AI is the most “conversational” of the group, allowing for a caller experience that makes you feel as if a live person is on the other line.They work with a number of leading restaurant brands, many of which are based in Florida where the company was founded including:
Also unique about TimeShark.ai is that it can answer calls in multiple languages, including Spanish.
Links for reservations and orders are sent directly to callers and integrations exist with leading POS systems, including Toast.
The setup and onboarding takes less than 30 minutes to complete and restaurants do not have to change their phone numbers.
Its AI systems are trained on restaurant-specific information, ensuring accurate, up-to-date responses to customer inquiries - all manageable through a portal (see below).
TimeShark.ai Customer Portal (source: timeshark.ai)
Who is it best for? Independent Restaurants
Voicify offers conversational AI solutions tailored for restaurants, focusing on enhancing customer service.
Their platform enables automated food ordering, reservations, and customer interactions across multiple channels like phone, drive-thru, and kiosks.
Voicify's technology aims to reduce staff workload, cut labor costs, and improve the customer experience by providing quick and accurate responses to inquiries, thus addressing the challenges of hiring, high turnover, and fluctuating demand in the restaurant industry.
Who is it best for? Independent Restaurants, Hospitality Groups
Slang.ai offers a voice AI specifically designed for restaurants, enabling them to intelligently answer calls 24/7.
This digital phone concierge can handle queries, take reservations, and ensure customer satisfaction without requiring direct staff intervention.
It is quick to set up, operates around the clock, and has been shown to increase reservations and ROI for restaurants.
Slang.ai adapts to caller needs by understanding various accents, answering common questions in real-time, and managing reservations efficiently.
Slang.ai Voice Options (source: slang.ai)
AI-driven tools are becoming vital for marketing, enabling brands to quickly generate content for various platforms.
Restaurants are using AI to analyze menus and customer data to create personalized marketing copy.
Dunkin’ uses AI to tailor marketing messages based on factors like weather conditions, enhancing the relevance and impact of its promotions.
get.popmenu.com
Who is it best for? All Types
Popmenu, founded in 2016, began by offering restaurants “dynamic menu technology” that allowed diners to like dishes and was optimized for online search.
They have since raised over $65m in venture funding to expand their suite of products - including AI-driven software solutions designed for restaurants to enhance their online presence and streamline operations.
Their platform now includes website design optimized for engagement, dynamic menu technology to showcase dishes attractively, integrated online ordering for convenience, and marketing automation for personalized customer engagement.
These tools aim to help restaurants attract more guests, improve operational efficiency, and boost their marketing efforts, all through a single, user-friendly platform.
hubkonnect.com
Who is it best for? Quick Service Restaurants, Restaurant Chains
HubKonnect offers an AI-powered platform for Local Store Marketing tailored for franchises and multi-unit organizations to enhance customer engagement.
The software employs AI algorithms to generate actionable local marketing insights - based on millions of local data points - to recommend strategies, and optimize activations.
It integrates with clients' systems like POS and mobile apps to maximize ROI.
This platform aims to drive sales, community engagement, loyalty, and repeat visits by leveraging the power of local data and AI-driven tactics.
HubKonnect primarily works with large fast-food chains, including Dunkin’, Bojangles, and McDonalds, to provide better tailored marketing to customers at the local, store level.
chatmeter.com
Who is it best for? Quick Service Restaurants, Restaurant Chains
Chatmeter specializes in reputation management for multi-location restaurants, offering a suite of tools to improve customer experience.
This includes increasing 5-star reviews, optimizing local SEO listings, managing social media, and keeping tabs on local competitors.
Their clients are primarily large multi-unit chains that need to manage their online presence at scale across many locations and markets.
Key benefits include attracting diners with high-quality reviews, ensuring accurate restaurant information online, and engaging customers across review channels to foster loyalty.
Today every restaurant - from independent restaurants to national chains - must use data to improve their operations.
Many software companies are incorporating AI into their products to make them easier to make decisions with and more affordable.
For example, AI's predictive analytics capabilities are helping restaurants anticipate trends and optimize inventory, thus reducing food waste.
AI is also being used to improve energy efficiency and sustainability in operations. Sophisticated kitchen automation technologies are evolving to meet these needs.
Here’s a few companies you need to know in this space:
lineup.ai
Who is it best for? Quick Service Restaurants
Lineup.ai offers AI-powered forecasting software for restaurants, focusing on sales, menu item forecasting, and automated staff scheduling.
It uses machine learning to generate accurate hourly, daily, and weekly sales forecasts, helping restaurants plan labor more efficiently and reduce staffing issues.
The software integrates with existing POS systems to use historical and real-time data for improved forecasts. It also offers a mobile app for staff to manage schedules, enhancing communication and operational efficiency.
Lineup.ai's solution aims to increase restaurant efficiency and profitability by optimizing labor and food costs.
Lineup.ai Analytics Platform (source: lineup.ai)
ingest.ai
Who is it best for? Quick Service Restaurants
Ingest.ai is a comprehensive data management and analytics platform designed specifically for the restaurant industry.
It streamlines the process of collecting, organizing, and analyzing data from various sources within a restaurant's operational ecosystem, including:
The platform aims to simplify the complexity of handling multiple data streams by providing a unified view of a restaurant's business metrics, thereby enabling smarter decision-making and operational efficiency.
Ingest.ai Daily Snapshot (source: Ingest.ai)
agoit.ai
Who is it best for? Quick Service Restaurants
Agot's product integrates advanced AI and computer vision technologies to monitor restaurant operations in real-time.
It focuses on enhancing order accuracy, reducing food waste, and improving the overall guest experience by providing actionable insights.
This system identifies discrepancies in kitchen activities and customer service, enabling staff to make immediate adjustments.
It's designed to streamline workflows, ensure quality control, and optimize staff performance, making it an essential tool for modern restaurant management.
Agot.ai Real-Time Order Accuracy (source: Agot.ai)
alwaysai.co
Who is it best for? Restaurant Chains
With a similar offering to Agot.ai, alwaysAI offers innovative AI technology for restaurants, focusing on maximizing operations, improving service speed, and reducing labor costs through Vision AI.
Their solutions cover various aspects including behind-the-counter operations, service speed enhancement, occupancy counting, and comprehensive drive-thru analytics.
These features aim to keep the efficiency of fast food services by utilizing cutting-edge AI tools for operational excellence.
alwaysAI Drive Thru Counting (source: alwaysai.co)
precitaste.com
Who is it best for? Restaurant Chains
PreciTaste provides AI-driven software solutions for restaurants to improve labor efficiency, reduce food waste, and increase profitability.
Their products include Prep Assistant, Planner Assistant, and Station Assistant, each designed to automate and optimize various kitchen tasks through predictive AI and computer vision technologies.
These solutions enable more effective management of food production, planning, and task execution, aiming to transform food chain operations into more efficient, waste-reducing, and profit-boosting systems.
clearcogs.com
Who is it best for? Restaurant Chains, Quick Serve Restaurants
ClearCOGS leverages AI to offer predictive analytics for restaurants, focusing on inventory and operational efficiency.
It analyzes POS data and menu trends to provide accurate forecasts, enabling smarter inventory management and reducing waste.
The platform offers tailored prep and purchase recommendations, integrating with existing systems for a smooth transition.
This approach aims to enhance profitability by managing food costs more intelligently and ensuring restaurants never over or under-prepare.
AI is also addressing challenges in hiring and retaining staff.
Chatbots powered by AI, like the Workstream Assistant, expedite the recruitment process, matching potential employees with jobs more efficiently.
Harri’s AI-driven platform aids in employee retention by monitoring employee performance and offering insights for intervention.
workstream.us
Who is it best for? Restaurant Chains
Workstream is a comprehensive HR, Payroll, and Hiring platform designed specifically for the hourly workforce in the restaurant industry.
It offers smart technology to automate HR tasks, making operations more efficient. Key features include active sourcing, automated scheduling, smart screening, multilingual hiring, and background checks for hiring; digitized onboarding, offboarding, and compliance for onboarding; worker records, document management, and analytics for operations; and chat, automated messages, and manager collaboration tools for team communications.
Additionally, Workstream provides engagement surveys to gauge worker satisfaction and AI tools to optimize job descriptions and applicant communications.
harri.com
Who is it best for? Restaurant Chains, Hospitality Groups
Harri provides a comprehensive suite of workforce management and HCM solutions for the hospitality industry, focusing on enhancing the employee experience to boost guest satisfaction.
Their platform includes talent acquisition tools for smarter hiring, an applicant tracking system to streamline recruitment, digital onboarding processes, efficient scheduling, time and attendance management, team communication tools, and Harri IQ for intelligent employee insights.
These features aim to achieve operational excellence and informed decision-making through real-time analytics.
Restaurants are leveraging AI to create innovative menu items.
openai.com
Who is it best for? All Types
Generative AI for menu development focuses on creating innovative dishes by analyzing data on culinary trends, customer preferences, and ingredient availability.
It assists chefs by suggesting unique flavor combinations and optimizing menu offerings for dietary needs, seasonality, and cost efficiency.
This AI-driven approach enables restaurants to tailor their menus dynamically, ensuring a fresh and appealing selection that aligns with consumer demand and operational goals, ultimately enhancing the dining experience and operational success.
Chains like Carl’s Jr., Hardee’s, and Wingstop are testing voice AI for drive-thru and phone orders.
Others are integrating voice AI into in-store kiosks.
These AI solutions help in reducing human error, speeding up service, and even upselling customers.
soundhound.com
Who is it best for? Restaurant Chains
Originally developed for natural language processing in automotive applications, SoundHound has recently entered into hospitality.
SoundHound's voice AI solutions for restaurants aim to streamline operations and enhance customer service by automating food ordering across various channels, including phone, drive-thru, and kiosks.
Their technology allows for efficient, hands-free ordering experiences, improving operational efficiencies, reducing staff dependencies, and enhancing customer satisfaction.
With features like Employee Assist, SoundHound's voice AI can answer critical questions for both front and back-of-house staff, enabling a more informed and efficient workforce.
SoundHound Table Ordering (source: SoundHound.com)
conversenow.ai
Who is it best for? Restaurant Chains
ConverseNow utilizes advanced voice AI technology to enhance drive-thru experiences for restaurants.
Their system is designed to decrease wait times and streamline order processing by handling multiple conversations simultaneously and remembering returning customers' preferences. This allows restaurant staff to concentrate on food preparation and in-person service, as drive-thru orders are directly integrated with the Point of Sale (POS) systems.
ConverseNow is also innovating with patented systems aimed at further transforming the drive-thru service, promising future advancements in this area.
presto.com
Who is it best for? Restaurant Chains
Presto offers AI-driven automation for drive-thru restaurants, aimed at managing labor shortages and boosting revenue.
Their Presto Voice system, which can be installed quickly without disrupting operations, operates with high efficiency, handling up to 95% of guest orders without staff intervention.
This technology has proven its ROI through significant deployments nationwide, with notable savings in labor costs and increases in revenue. Presto's solutions are designed for reliability and scalability, enhancing the guest experience and operational efficiency in the drive-thru service industry.
olea.com
Who is it best for? Quick Serve Restaurants, Restaurant Chains
Olea specializes in Quick Serve Restaurant (QSR) Food Ordering Kiosks, offering solutions that streamline operations and enhance customer satisfaction.
These kiosks allow guests to customize orders and skip lines, leading to a more efficient service. Customers typically experience a 20% to 30% increase in ticket size due to consistent upselling and promotional offers.
grubbrr.com
Who is it best for? Quick Serve Restaurants, Restaurant Chains
Grubbrr specializes in providing automated commerce solutions for the restaurant and retail industries.
Their suite of products includes self-service kiosks, digital menu boards, mobile ordering and payments, kitchen and display systems, and inventory management and analytics.
AI has become a focal point for the company in each of these categories to provide restaurants with actionable insights. These insights include predicting peak times, personalizing customer interactions, and optimizing menu pricing and layout for increased sales.
Grubber Self Ordering Kiosks (source: Grubbrr.com)
So why should you consider new AI technology?
1. Save money due to rising labor costs
2. Streamline operations for scaling or franchising their business
3. Providing a better, more consistent, customer experience
Did you know? Nearly 60% of operators in a recent National Restaurant Association report anticipate increased use of technology and automation in 2023!
Here’s a breakdown of the AI landscape:
1. Voice AI for Phone Calls
2. Marketing and Customer Engagement
3. Predictive Analytics
4. Recruitment and Employee Retention
5. Menu Development
6. Drive Thru and Kiosk Ordering
Never miss a sale again. Make every lead count and deliver exceptional client service with our groundbreaking AI receptionist.