AI could be used by restaurants to better understand customer expectations. — AFP Relaxnews
Despite all the current excitement around the subject, generative artificial intelligence isn’t ready to replace a chef, waiter or sommelier when it comes to the restaurant industry. This technological revolution could, however, offer up a different approach to helping restaurateurs choose the dishes they serve and how they serve them by helping them adapt them to correspond more closely with the tastes of the moment.
Robotic arms that cook French fries, computers that act as recipe prompters so that each ingredient is added at the optimum moment in order to achieve results in line with those of a top chef.... There’s a large range of tasks that artificial intelligence is already performing in the restaurant business.
The industry has been studying the subject seriously for several years now. And according to renowned consulting firm McKinsey’s recent wide-ranging report, 70% of tasks in a restaurant have the potential to be automated by robots or other types of technological equipment.
But it’s important to distinguish this type of automation technology from generative artificial intelligence, embodied by the popular ChatGPT.
Adding in the use of such forms of AI, the rate of potential automation could rise to 78%, according to this document, which studied the use of AI in no fewer than 63 professional cases and estimated that it could “deliver total value in the range of US$2.6 trillion (RM12.06 trillion) to US$4.4 trillion (RM20.41 trillion) in economic benefits annually when applied across industries” as a result.
While the existence of such ultra-high-performance algorithms is usually evoked in terms of speeding up tasks executed in “white-collar” professions, such as journalism and teaching, service professions such as food service are not excluded from using it to boost their potential.
The first area where AI is seen as useful is by replacing human efforts when it comes to the execution of tedious tasks. In the United States, fast-food chain Wendy’s is experimenting with AI to better manage personalized orders taken at the drive-thru window, with many consumers requesting customized burgers. Meanwhile at Wingstop, this technology is used to power the virtual assistant that handles telephone orders in English and Spanish.
But the restaurant industry could benefit from generative AI to boost productivity in areas not directly related to cooking and serving food. Indeed, waiters and cooks may not necessarily be directly threatened with being replaced by AI. Rather the tool is being seen as a means of creating a menu more in line with current culinary trends.
In short, it could be asked about ingredients that are currently in vogue, as well as dishes and recipes that are trending.
Additionally, a restaurant menu could be geared specifically towards individual customers’ flavour preferences. Restaurateurs should also consider using generative AI as a tool for boosting their visibility and the way they communicate and interact with consumers.
In California, the technology is already proving useful to startup SOCi, which has integrated ChatGPT into its marketing software to help restaurant owners automate responses to customer reviews posted online. – AFP Relaxnews
