How Restaurants Are Embracing AI and Technology

Dining out with my family recently at a bustling restaurant in Philadelphia, I noticed the server giving off a bit of a brusque, apathetic vibe. But my daughters didn’t mind, practically squealing with delight while grabbing their sodas off the server’s tray before she silently spun around and zoomed off. We were at Kura Sushi, a Japanese chain of revolving sushi bars, and the server was a robot. 

The Jetson-esque scene isn’t new. Kura introduced Kur-B the KuraBot around 2021, and employs plenty of other high-tech features including touch screen ordering and a signature conveyor belt that snakes around the dining room delivering plates of salmon nigiri and shrimp tempura. Even paying the bill at the end of the meal is automated — feed your empty plates into a slot on your table and a screen tallies your total. 

But while futuristic robotics grab attention, AI’s true transformation of restaurants is largely happening behind the scenes. In an industry persistently grappling with thin margins and surging expenses, operators are increasingly adopting high tech tools that could help trim costs or boost sales, and some also see it as a way to free up time to put more focus on the human elements of hospitality. 

“If there is one thing the restaurant industry learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is that dining is not just about eating, but the important role human social interaction plays,” says Scott Gingerich, Vice President of Restaurant, Bars + Events at IHG Luxury & Lifestyle Americas. “We will, however, look to AI to help our operators make more informed and data driven decisions,” he says, which will allow them to operate more efficiently, offer more personalized service, and “focus on what matters most: providing exceptional human to human hospitality.”

From minimizing food waste and developing smarter menus to choosing the ideal location, read on for nine ways chefs and operators are using AI in restaurants.

Designing the menu

“AI is starting to play a larger role in refining menu layouts and boosting profitability through data driven insights,” says Jean-Georges Vongerichten, the chef/owner of over 50 restaurants around the globe, including Four Twenty Five in New York City. “By inputting sales metrics and menu design into GPT, we can optimize both topline sales and overall profitability,” he says, noting that simple changes like repositioning high-profit items can significantly impact sales.

Answering phone calls and managing reservations

On the reservations front, an AI-powered booking transformation is already well underway. AI agents — essentially (nearly) autonomous bots that can perform tasks synchronously with a human — are currently being used in restaurants for tasks like managing bookings or answering questions about opening times and menus over the phone. “AI will undoubtedly revolutionize reservations taken both by POS and phone/email/website,” says Paul Denamiel, chef/owner of Le Rivage in New York City. With AI assistants already capable of making reservations independently, he notes, the technology will also “learn diners’ preferences and make tailored suggestions

Dynamic pricing for reservations and menus

Aaron Bludorn, executive chef and partner of several Houston restaurants including Bludorn and Navy Blue, sees even more sophisticated applications in the realm of reservations, predicting, “There will be a day when people are able to pay a little more for their favorite table at a desired time.” The chef also sees this dynamic pricing extending to menus based on “market data and AI generated research, telling a chef what the market can withstand for pricing,” he says. “This will allow chefs and restaurateurs to have up-to-the-minute data regarding where the competition’s pricing is, in order to maximize the price as well as being within attractive to a guest from a value standpoint.”

Reducing food waste

AI-powered analytics are helping restaurants tackle food waste. “By analyzing sales data, AI can optimize our production schedules to reduce waste and improve efficiency,” says Vongerichten. AI tools can generate smarter production plans based on prior sales patterns, which means restaurants can prepare just enough food to meet demand while minimizing excess. And these tools are becoming increasingly sophisticated. IHG Luxury properties are evaluating an AI system that uses smart cameras at waste bins to recognize discarded food. According to Gingerich, this technology will provide insights aimed at “reducing waste thereby improving profitability, guest satisfaction and sustainability.”

Choosing restaurant locations

AI is even transforming how restaurant groups select new locations. IHG has integrated a tool from San Francisco-based Borne, an AI-powered platform that analyzes restaurant concept data, to zero in on prime locations. “We have used Borne on every new concept development project in 2024,” says Gingerich, noting that the tool helps “hone in the cuisine and concept that will have the highest likelihood of success for a given location.”

Boosting menu and recipe development

AI is changing menu development, giving chefs instant access to scientific flavor insights, according to Vongerichten. “With a full database of food chemistry and flavor synergies, chefs can input ingredients like white asparagus and receive tailored recommendations for flavor pairings,” he says “This ability to instantly generate new and scientifically-backed combinations will inspire chefs to explore new flavor profiles, resulting in more innovative and dynamic dishes.” Ben Triola, executive chef at The Chloe in New Orleans, sees AI as a source of novel inspiration, providing “new ideas to riff on, producing images and ideas foreign to classically trained chefs by pulling ingredient pairings and plating ideas from across the world,” he says, though adding, “The human ability to translate that into something our guests want will be crucial to staying relevant in the emerging culinary landscape.”

Improve sustainable sourcing

Hana Dreiling, co-founder of Holey Grail Donuts in Hawaii and Los Angeles, says AI tools have already helped her business with inventory management, scheduling, and financial reporting over the last few years. But it’s also a secret weapon when it comes to sustainability, “not just in the kitchen, but in farming too,” she says. “AI-driven tools have helped us fine-tune our supply chain, shift to a quarterly menu, and reduce waste, all while celebrating our core ingredient: taro root, hand-harvested in Hawaii.” She envisions the ways AI tools could empower local farmers to grow more sustainably while also honoring their sacred traditions that make taro special. “For me, it’s about letting technology and tradition work together to build a more sustainable, resilient food ecosystem,” she says.

Troubleshooting menu problems

AI is optimizing back-of-house logistics, as well as enhancing the overall dining experience by addressing quality and service in real time. IHG Hotels & Resorts is leveraging Craftable, a tool that according to Gingerich, “seamlessly integrates purchasing, recipes, inventory, and sales to help our teams simplify everything from ordering, inventory, cost analysis, and loss prevention.” Beyond operational efficiency, though, the technology “automates menu engineering and helps our teams identify items that are frequently returned and why, allowing the properties to troubleshoot menu items, recipes, and/or training.”

Streamlining administrative tasks

AI is already reshaping restaurants’ administrative operations, from HR to accounting. “Tasks that traditionally require dedicated staff — like bookkeeping, payroll processing, and compliance tracking — can be handled instantly and with greater accuracy,” says David Yun, co-owner of C as in Charlie and Kisa in New York. “The ability to automate data-heavy processes will allow operators to focus more on creativity, hospitality, and the overall guest experience.” Yun notes. “I see this as a positive shift where AI takes care of the administrative workload, freeing up time for what truly matters in running a restaurant.”