The restaurant business is one of the domains that evolves continuously. The tastes of consumers and their approach to dine in or dine out are changing rapidly. Toward this, an implementation of high-tech and right solutions in the system can help restaurant owners to stay on top amidst fierce competition.
AI (Artificial Intelligence) is one such technology that made a significant impact on the restaurant industry. From reservations to food ordering, the use of AI tools has revolutionized everything. It helps restaurant owners & operators to reduce food wastage, improve the consumer experience, and increase revenue.
This article showcases how AI technology is transforming restaurant management.
Though first, let’s have a look at the essentials of AI and why it is vital for the industry.
What is AI?
It is concerned with building smart machines with the capabilities to perform the tasks that typically require human intelligence. We can count the Natural Language Processing (NLP), speech recognition, machine vision, and more as AI applications.
Simply put, Artificial Intelligence is the simulation of human intelligence in devices that are programmed to think like humans in specific situations and imitate their actions.
Let’s take an example of the video games you play. Specific activities of characters like jumping, running, and more are programmed to be performed in particular ways. However, AI, with other technological advancements, helped to transform these characters to be more realistic than before. It improves efficiency and makes better user engagement with the application.
AI & ML (Machine Learning)
Machine Learning is a subset of AI. However, it has taken the AI to the next level, where a system can perform specific actions automatically by analyzing and learning from the previous inputs.
If you are using an audio/video streaming platform, you might have seen that you get suggestions based on your past searches or the selected categories. It is possible with the use of ML.
Top Benefits of AI to Restaurant Operators and Owners
Increases Market Reach
It helps to reach customers even outside of the restaurant and increase the chances of upselling. The implementation of chatbots and other tools helps the brand to provide 24 x 7 customer assistance. As a result, businesses can connect with more people and increase growth opportunities.
EnhancesVisitor Experience
With the help of AI tools, the staff can automate mundane tasks. Also, smart kiosks enable customers to select, personalize, and order their favorite food based on suggestions. As a result, kitchen assistants can focus on more productive work for improving guest experiences.
Reduces Errors
The use of programmed machines to take orders, update inventory, generate bills, and more, minimizes the risk of miscommunication among the staff.
Saves Cost
AI helps perform multiple tasks simultaneously and faster than humans. Thus, it reduces the expense associated with hiring the human workforce and occupy them for doing monotonous jobs.
How Is AI Reshaping Restaurant Management?
Forecast Sales
Customers prefer to choose food & beverages based on external conditions like rainy, snowy, sunny, and more. Therefore, weather forecasts play a crucial role in restaurant sales.
Toward this, machine learning can help to project the sales forecast based on past orders and weather conditions.
For instance, if a cafe sold a high volume of hot chocolate in cold & gloomy weather last year, a machine learning-powered solution can identify these data points. With such information, restaurant owners can stock the inventory and hire the right amount of staff to meet customer demands.
Reduce Food Wastage
Food waste is one of the most critical issues in the restaurant industry. It is a concern that not only suppliers & owners, but also consumers need to resolve. To address this, restaurant operators have already started toward investing in food saving strategies. According to a study, when a restaurant business spends a dollar on reducing food wastage, they save seven.
However, the pressing question is, how can a forecast help to reduce food wastage and money as a result?
The use of historical sales data along with weather prediction enables businesses to detect how much and what type of inventory they need to fulfill the demands. It helps them to eliminate the risk of overspending on the goods that would not be sold.
For instance, if the machine learning tools detect the decrease in sales of burgers up to 30% in rainy seasons, restaurants can order fewer ingredients related to burgers during such weather. Besides, they can focus on buying inventory that typically brings more sales in those conditions.
Promotions and Forecast of Event Foot Traffic
Marketing and promotions are crucial for a restaurant business. Toward this, AI-based solutions help to analyze past sales, current market trends, and forecast according to user interests. Thus, AI can help to get maximum out of the promotional campaigns and enhance business efficiency.
Moreover, the use of AI enables restaurant owners to forecast event foot traffic and manage the inventory & staff accordingly.
For instance, if there is a rugby match or a music event at a nearby location, restaurants can expect a large number of customers to visit their place. AI tools can help to determine the type of items that sell more during such events, the time when the restaurant can have a large crowd, and the need for kitchen assistants accordingly.
Bottom Line
The points mentioned above show that AI is infiltrating many areas in the restaurant domain already. However, businesses need to take a smart route to implement AI capabilities in their existing systems. Toward this, an experienced partner with the right restaurant app development services can help. They can provide custom AI-based solutions according to the business requirements and help achieve the greatest success.
chefs using a laptop inquisitively -DepositPhotos
