{"id":26391,"date":"2023-04-13T07:00:43","date_gmt":"2023-04-13T12:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.escoffier.edu\/?p=26391"},"modified":"2024-11-06T18:29:13","modified_gmt":"2024-11-07T00:29:13","slug":"how-artificial-intelligence-is-changing-the-food-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escoffier.edu\/blog\/world-food-drink\/how-artificial-intelligence-is-changing-the-food-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"9 Ways Artificial Intelligence Is Changing the Food Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been all over the news recently. The recent rollout of the newest version of ChatGPT<\/a>, the AI-powered chatbot, has been making waves and sparking think pieces about the future of work in industries from coding to marketing.<\/p>\n

What do AI tools mean for the restaurant and food industries? After all, a chatbot can\u2019t get into the kitchen and whip up a souffle. But the growing functionality of these tools may make life easier for chefs and other industry employees today and in the near future!<\/p>\n

How AI Is Changing Restaurants<\/h2>\n

When we talk about AI in restaurants, we\u2019re usually not talking about AI-powered robots or large-scale automations. Most restaurants don\u2019t have the kind of large manufacturing needs that would require mechanized interventions. It\u2019s much more likely that AI will be used to streamline some of the day-to-day tasks of the restaurant, both in the front of house<\/a> and back of house<\/a>, as well as improve restaurant marketing. Here are some of the improvements we\u2019re seeing due to this new technology.<\/p>\n

1. Personalized Menu Recommendations for Guests<\/h3>\n

AI can power analytic tools that make personalized recommendations to customers based on past behavior. For example, AI-powered engines can assess a customer\u2019s past orders and reviews, determine days they may be more likely to place an order, and choose events that they may be interested in. This kind of personalized analysis will let AI make custom suggestions to the customer. For example, if a customer has only ordered vegetarian items, the AI could infer that the customer eats a plant-based diet<\/a>, and can make recommendations that are relevant to that guest.<\/p>\n

The company Dynamic Yield<\/a> (previously owned by McDonald\u2019s) offers these services, with a self-training model that can analyze data and predict future possible sales.<\/p>\n

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AI-powered ordering platforms both onsite and for takeout\/delivery may be able to make personalized recommendations to increase check averages and suit customer\u2019s preferences.<\/p><\/div>\n

2. Predictive Analytics for Smarter Forecasting<\/h3>\n

Using predictive analytics, artificial intelligence can analyze sales data, weather patterns, and local events to estimate future sales. This may help to take the guesswork out of forecasting, so chefs can make more accurate employee schedules, estimate their inventory needs, and improve their long-term financial outlook.<\/p>\n

3. Chatbots to Answer Questions, Take Orders, and Set Reservations<\/h3>\n

Today, most reservations are taken on sites like OpenTable<\/a> or Resy<\/a>. And online orders often go through platforms like Toast<\/a> or ChowNow<\/a>.<\/p>\n

AI-powered chatbots can streamline these processes into a single platform. How about instead of navigating a complicated interface of checkboxes and customizations in an online ordering platform, the customer could have an easy \u201cconversation\u201d with an AI chatbot? The bot could ask all the questions a server would, like \u201cWould you like fries with that?\u201d for easy upsells. Domino\u2019s Pizza, for example, uses a chatbot on Facebook Messenger to take orders and provide order updates.<\/p>\n

Chatbots may also help guests find the right reservation time for their party and answer questions, like \u201cIs there anywhere to park nearby?\u201d or \u201cDo you have a dress code?\u201d<\/p>\n

Up to now, chatbots have been relatively limited, responding with pre-set answers that are provided by the restaurant. With the recent release of ChatGPT, expect the functionality of chatbots to improve a great deal in the near future!<\/p>\n

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AI By the Numbers<\/h3>\n