Obviously, AI is a really big deal right now. It’s all anybody talks about. But that doesn’t mean using AI solutions in your restaurant has to be a big deal. In fact, AI for restaurants is only getting easier to afford, implement, and use.
Still, it can be tough to cut through all the hype. With so many options and so many bold promises, how can you find smart, simple solutions that make sense for your business? We gathered together a few top industry experts to find out.
Back of House tech consultant Spencer Michiel hosted DYNE CTO Parsa Riahi and Loman.ai sales director Andy Lowder for a focused discussion on AI solutions that can be easily implemented to make an immediate impact on your business.
Produced with support from Gordon Food Services and the Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association (MLRA), the hour-long webinar Small Shifts, Big Wins: AI Solutions That Save Time, Labor & Your Bottom Line includes valuable tips for using AI tools to:
- Improve the employee experience
- Enhance the customer experience
- Boost your bottom line
The best part is that your restaurant can make these improvements with just a few modest but meaningful changes.
A Bird’s Eye View of AI In Restaurants
Spencer kicked off the discussion by recognizing that AI for restaurants is a “hot-button issue.” According to a recent joint survey from Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Business, “One in three operators said they're already using some form of AI. That’s up 21 percent from last year,” Spencer reported.
And this is really just the beginning of the restaurant industry’s AI revolution. Spencer pointed out that “Eighty percent of operators said they expect to increase their AI investment this year.”
In fact, some of the best AI tools for business are already helping restaurants save time, operate with greater efficiency, and lower costs. That includes the innovative AI-powered solutions featured in our webinar:
- DYNE uses advanced algorithms and machine learning models to improve, automate, and inform your marketing strategy.
- Loman.ai is an AI-powered voice-answering service that can field calls for your restaurant 24/7 with human-like understanding and tone.
Vendors like DYNE and Loman.ai are changing the way we think about AI and hospitality. As Andy observed, “It's grown to a place where we're so busy, we're so understaffed, that there is no hospitality left. And with these AI tools, it really brings back that focus.”
In other words, the best AI tools for business should empower us to create better experiences for staff and customers alike. But what does that actually mean?
Screen capture from the webinar "Small Shifts, Big Wins: AI Solutions That Save Time, Labor & Your Bottom Line"
Small AI-Powered Shifts Can Make a Big Impact
The rise in AI means that you have an incredible amount of power at your fingertips. If you use that power correctly, you can improve life for your staff and make your customers happier. As Spencer explained, there are plenty of “practical, real-world ways that AI can help you operate more efficiently, market smarter, and deliver a better guest experience.”
Parsa took it a step further, predicting that AI-powered tools will be the key to navigating the uncertainties that lie ahead for our industry. “AI is really the change agent that allows for us to ride the waves that come,” said Parsa, “whether it be the pandemic, whether it be tariffs, whether it be anything else.”
Fortunately, it only takes a few small shifts to start taking advantage of this technology. Below are just some of the shifts our panel discussed. We strongly recommend watching the entire discussion for a deeper look at how to use AI in restaurant business operations. Read on for a few of our top takeaways.
1. Bring More Guests Through the Door With “Always-On” Marketing
Unlike the big national chains, “most independents don't really have a full marketing team,” said Parsa. “It's a big challenge. And it means that your brand consistency is always the thing that dies first.”
Your brand consistency is the combination of tone, imagery, and promotional content you use to establish your online identity. Consistency is critical to:
- Earning customer loyalty
- Differentiating your business from competitors
- Creating brand recognition across social media platforms, review forums, and your own website
AI-powered marketing tools help you keep that brand consistency alive even without a single marketing expert on staff. “Dyne behaves like your ‘always-on’ AI marketing team,” said Parsa. “It schedules your Facebook, Instagram, and Tiktok posts with AI creatives. It launches the right campaigns automatically. It answers reviews on Yelp and other platforms.”
This automated approach means you’re following up on leads instantly, engaging loyal customers more promptly, and even giving more immediate attention to negative reviews. Parsa explained that these modest shifts in your brand strategy can dramatically expand your visibility, and, in turn, your foot traffic.
With a tool like DYNE, he said, “You're getting, on average, a 500 percent increase in your marketing traffic. That converts into, typically, a 10 to 20 percent increase in your revenue through the door.”
2. Create Better Guest Experiences With AI-Powered Data Analysis
The best AI tools for the restaurant business should help you create a better guest experience for everybody who does come through the door.
You already have access to a lot of incredibly valuable data through things like your POS (point of sale) system, inventory management software, and customer loyalty program. But AI makes it possible to draw insights from your data that would otherwise be impossible to detect.
“Humans are great at things like creativity, empathy, reading body language, and understanding context – things that the bot can’t quite think through,” said Spencer. On the other hand, “AI is great at analyzing data. It's great at spotting patterns.”
However, it’s only when we bring real human engagement and sophisticated data analysis together that “We get efficiency and hospitality, and we get a better guest experience all around,” said Spencer.
DYNE is a perfect example of this idea in action. “Our system plugs into your POS and your marketing tools,” said Parsa. “So it knows what works on both sides. You can actually attribute marketing dollars to sales success.”
You don’t have to guess what your customers want out of their experience. DYNE’s AI-powered data analysis spots the patterns and draws the connections for you. Once you can see these patterns and connections, you can make decisions about things like menu pricing, drink specials, and targeted promotions with much greater clarity.
3. Make Life Better For Employees With AI Voice Answering
A lot of people worry that AI will replace human workers. But the truth is, the best AI tools for business can handle a lot of the tasks that we just don’t have the time for. As Spencer explained, “In a restaurant environment, AI isn't about replacing people. It's about freeing people up to provide hospitality.”
That’s exactly why Loman.ai created its sophisticated AI voice answering service. “So many restaurant operators get bogged down with the phones,” said Andy. “It becomes this distraction that prevents the hosts from being able to greet the customers in front of them, and prevents the bartenders from having great conversations.”
Of course, nobody likes calling a restaurant and getting one of those annoying robotic answering services. But today, said Andy, “AI has become so conversational and so able to deliver human-like experiences that a lot of times people don't even realize they're talking to a system.”
This means your customers aren’t sitting on hold waiting to place their orders and your employees aren’t stressing over a constantly ringing phone. This creates a happier experience for everybody involved. “A happier employee provides a better guest experience,” said Andy, “and that's what it's all about.”
4. Control Your Controllables With AI-Powered Demand Forecasting
“As an operator, there are only so many things you can control,” Andy noted. “Labor and food costs are the two main levers you can pull to make sure that you're eking out a profitable win at the end of the day.” AI makes it possible to pull those levers in the right direction by providing more accurate demand forecasting.
For instance, Andy said, when it comes to staffing, “you're always trying to go with your best estimate based on what the traffic was the same time last week, or looking at year over year sales. But sometimes things that you don't expect come up and just change the way you do business.”
AI tools can provide more accurate demand forecasting by allowing you to look more deeply at the numbers as well as looking beyond the numbers.
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“Whether it's a local football game, a concert, or any other kind of event that's going on, AI really has that full visibility into what's happening in your neck of the woods,” said Andy. “Then you have really intuitive insights to help improve your labor costs – to tell you how to staff, what to prepare, and where your bottlenecks will be.”
“Before your doors open, you're going to know who's coming into your restaurant that day,” Andy said. “That lack of guesswork is a real relief for all of our customers.”
It’s All About Leveling the Playing Field
“Utilizing AI for restaurants doesn't have to be scary and difficult,” Spencer said. “It can be quite easy, and actually, every day it's getting easier and better. “
Not only that, but as it gets easier and better, it’s also becoming more cost-effective and accessible. DYNE and Loman.ai are two excellent examples of sophisticated plug-and-play AI solutions that even independent restaurants and smaller chains can adopt to help manage everyday challenges.
As Spencer pointed out, “AI levels the playing field for independents, giving smaller operators the same tools to compete effectively with the larger brands.”
To find out which of these tools can help your business level up, reach out and schedule a free personalized consultation with one of our restaurant tech experts today.
