Technology is becoming an increasingly important part of the restaurant experience — from digital ordering and handheld payment systems to AI-powered tools designed to improve operations.
As restaurant technology continues to evolve, operators are seeking ways to use technology to save time and make their work easier without losing the personal connection that makes dining out special.
But how customers feel about restaurant technology is more complicated than simply being for or against it.
Diners appreciate tools that make ordering, paying, and customizing their experiences easier, but they also want technology to enhance hospitality rather than replace it.
That tension raises an important question for restaurants. How can technology improve the restaurant customer experience without creating more distance between guests and employees?
To explore that question, we spoke with Back of House restaurant tech expert Rachel Morgan, along with diners (and members of the Back of House marketing team) Hilary Young, Ashley Dunn, Judy Weightman, and Manisha Kishinchand, to understand where technology is helping, where it falls short, and what the future of technology in restaurants could look like.
Expert Take: On the Role of Technology in Restaurants
The NRA State of the Industry 2026 report shows consumers are increasingly comfortable using technology to order and pay, but they’re split on whether technology improves hospitality.
Why do you think customers have mixed feelings about technology in restaurants?
Rachel: It’s a high-stakes space for tech, as there's very little room for error in the guest experience today. One confusing kiosk or payment flow can make the whole service feel bad in some minds.
At the same time, we have a generation entering the buying space who has only ever known technology, so its absence can feel like a service gap.
So, two forces pull in opposite directions — high expectations for flawless service and a baseline assumption that tech should just be there.
What makes restaurant tech an improvement to the guest experience rather than a replacement for human interaction?
Rachel: It feels like an improvement when I don’t even realize I’m using it.
A great example is AI phone ordering. Answering the phone to tell the 75th person that day that you open at 11 a.m., despite your hours being on your website, all your socials, and every business listing, can take a piece of your soul.
From the guests' side, getting someone to actually answer the phone can be nearly impossible if service has started or you’re calling during off-hours.
So AI handling that exchange doesn't replace hospitality — it removes a repetitive, low-value task so the team can spend their energy on the guest standing in front of them instead of the guest stuck on hold.
The report also highlights a tension between efficiency and hospitality.
How can restaurants use technology while still creating a personal experience for guests?
Rachel: Personalized recommendations, timely and relevant messaging, and remembering a guest's preferences are examples of technology working in service of hospitality rather than in place of it.
Train your staff to identify these opportunities and weave them into the conversation. Don't have them awkwardly read my last order to me.
Some consumers worry technology could replace employees rather than support them.
What do you see as technology’s role in helping restaurant teams deliver better hospitality?
Rachel: I believe the hospitality industry is safe and is positioned for future success through technology. The goal of technology is to reduce staff workload, allowing them to focus more on interacting with guests.
What are examples of tech taking pressure off restaurant employees and allowing them to focus more on guests?
Rachel: Scheduling comes to mind first. You don’t have to do mental gymnastics to find the perfect match for 10-20 employees with different scheduling needs.
Prep lists are another great resource that saves time and likely predicts better than your kitchen managers' “gut feeling.”
AI-powered tools are gaining attention, especially among younger consumers.
Where do you see AI having the biggest opportunity in restaurants, and where is the human touch still essential?
Rachel: The greatest opportunity lies in data synthesis. Restaurants are sitting on a goldmine of data, yet have little time or resources to use it to their advantage.
That’s where AI can give you the biggest bang for your buck, enabling faster, more informed decisions. AI is the tool to help you prepare to deliver the best experience for your guests.
Customer Take: Where Technology Fits Into the Dining Experience
While restaurant operators are focused on using technology to improve efficiency and support their teams, the guest perspective is equally important. After all, the success of any restaurant technology ultimately depends on how it affects the people using it.
Customers have embraced some forms of digital convenience, but they also have clear expectations. Here’s what our diners had to say about how customers feel about restaurant technology, and where they believe technology belongs in the restaurant customer experience.
What restaurant technologies make your dining experience easier or more enjoyable?
Manisha: Some of the big restaurant groups in Chicago have started using a QR code that you can use to split the bill among your table and only pay for your items, which makes it easier to calculate in the moment and less time-consuming later!
Judy: For a QSR [quick-service restaurant], even though I’m a boomer, I don’t mind ordering via kiosk, especially when I’m getting a completely personalized salad or stir-fry.
Hilary: I love handheld POS systems that allow us to pay tableside. It’s easy, convenient, and nearly impossible to forget your credit card at the restaurant (that one is for my husband).
Ashley: From an accessibility standpoint, I love the use of technologies in a dining experience, like digital menus with alt-text, screen customization (adjustable size or contrast), and multi-translations.
I also find it practical to have flexible tableside payment tech and check splitting.
When does technology improve your restaurant experience, and when does it get in the way?
Manisha: It gets in the way when I have to order through a QR code. I don't want to be on my phone at a nice dinner place and want face-to-face interactions. It also feels weird tipping when I put my own order in.
Judy: Again, I’m a boomer — I don’t like QR code anything, in any setting.
Hilary: Technology improves my restaurant experience when I don’t notice it at all, and it simply enhances the entire experience.
That might be a seamless check-in experience at the hostess stand, the ability to customize my meal without issue, the right food arriving at the table on time, and an easy way to pay the bill.
From start to finish, technology should allow for so much operational efficiency that it leaves more room for wonderful in-person experiences for guests. On the other hand, it gets in the way when screens are too omnipresent, and I’m expected to DIY too much.
Ashley: Technology improves the experience when it quietly works in the background to remove barriers and friction.
Tech can ensure guest requests reach the kitchen without creating extra work for staff. On the other hand, it can degrade the social aspect of dining out by forcing us to stare at screens instead of connecting with people.
Do you prefer using tech for ordering and paying, or do you value interacting with restaurant employees? Why?
Manisha: For quick service, I prefer using tech for ordering and paying, but for sit-down restaurants, I like face-to-face interaction. I want an experience, and I'm probably spending more money, so I want it to feel worth it.
Judy: Depends on the context — tech is fine in a QSR, for ordering and paying, but for a nice meal out with friends, the human touch is crucial.
Even there, though, I’m okay with the server bringing the tablet to the table and letting me pay there. That can be a lot less disruptive than them running around with my card.
Hilary: I agree that it depends on context.
When I’m in a rush and on-the-go, I love using technology for ordering and paying and minimizing small talk. But when I’m at a sit-down restaurant, it’s specifically to slow down and connect with the people I’m with, which includes the restaurant employees.
A great restaurant experience is dependent on those interactions with the staff, and bonus if they laugh at my weird jokes.
Ashley: In fast casual settings, I find self-service kiosks to be a blessing. But for sit-down dining, I value interacting with the employees.
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What restaurant technology do you use regularly without even thinking about it?
Manisha: I do some side work for my family's restaurants, so I'm constantly on the back end and front end of Toast, OpenTable, Yelp, Uber Eats, and Grubhub.
Judy: Haha, now that I’m in the biz, I’m always thinking about it — which POS is this? How does the loyalty program work?
But a good online ordering system truly is friction-free. (A bad online ordering system makes me very cranky.)
Hilary: POS systems are everywhere!! And I love a good hand-held tableside experience.
Ashley: POS systems, specifically with tap-to-pay capabilities.
Would faster service through technology make you more likely to choose one restaurant over another?
Manisha: Not necessarily. I understand the reasons why things take time at restaurants and enjoy sitting, relaxing, and just taking my time. I’m not usually in a big rush when I'm eating out.
Judy: Not faster service, necessarily, but better service.
Hilary: I don’t think speed is the key to good service — it’s efficiency.
It’s clear to diners when a restaurant operates like a well-oiled machine because it doesn’t seem stressful or chaotic — it simply opens the door to be present and enjoy good food with good people, which is really the whole point.
Ashley: Not at all. Fast service isn’t the primary goal of a restaurant experience for me.
Like many other consumers, I have become more choosy about where to spend my dining dollars. I’d much rather choose a restaurant that operates sustainably and in an atmosphere that encourages connecting and savoring the food over fast turnover.
How do you feel about newer restaurant tech, such as AI-powered ordering tools or automated systems?
Hilary: I have a lot of issues with AI as a be-all, end-all kind of technology in terms of our society, but I think the way that it’s being applied to existing tech platforms is brilliant.
It really exists to help you harness the power of insights and data in deeper ways in order to help you make smarter decisions for your business.
And on the customer side, if AI helps online ordering platforms find exactly what I’m in the mood to eat as soon as I open my app, so I don’t have to doomscroll while getting hangrier, then I think it’s also a win.
Ashley: Regardless of how I feel about it, the tech is here to stay, and those who learn who do not adapt will be left behind. AI-powered tech can be a powerful tool, and we are just scratching the surface of its possibilities.
AI can be used to predict food waste to promote sustainability, optimize backend supply chains, or offer language translations for guests.
Judy: I think technology has a place in restaurants when it makes the experience easier without taking away from what makes dining out enjoyable.
What’s the right balance between convenience via tech and the human connection you expect from restaurants?
Manisha: I think the convenience should be more on the back end, helping the operator rather than making everything super automated for the customer, because human connection is important and something people look forward to.
Judy: The tech convenience should be enhancing efficiency behind the scenes. Front of house, I want to deal with a friendly and competent human being.
Hilary: The balance lies in creating operational efficiencies so that the human connection can be front and center for customers when they walk in your door.
Ashley: The right balance means using technology to humanize the back-of-house so we can prioritize human connection in the front-of-house.
Restaurants are some of the last remaining “third spaces” where people gather. Tech should handle the administrative burden so the employees can care for guests.
The Future of Technology in Restaurants
The conversation around technology in restaurants is no longer simply about whether restaurants should adopt new tools. Instead, the focus is shifting toward how those tools are implemented and whether they truly improve the experience for both guests and employees.
The strongest technology solutions are the ones that remove friction, support restaurant teams, and create more opportunities for meaningful human interaction.
From AI-powered insights and digital accessibility tools to streamlined payments and operational systems, technology has the potential to strengthen hospitality when it is designed with people in mind.
As restaurant tech trends continue to evolve, the restaurants that succeed will be the ones that recognize technology works best when it supports the experience — not when it becomes the experience.
Stay Ahead of Restaurant Technology Trends
Technology is transforming restaurant operations — from AI and automation to digital ordering and guest experience.
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