16 ways to use AI for restaurants to cook up business success

Where every minute counts and every customer interaction matters, artificial intelligence for restaurants is becoming the secret ingredient that separates good restaurants from great ones. By combining innovation with tradition to serve up something extraordinary, AI in the workplace is the sous chef restaurants never knew they needed.

AI in restaurants is a versatile kitchen tool—it preps, cooks, serves, cleans, and directly impacts the customer experience (CX). From personalized reservation systems to smart kitchen equipment that ensures perfect cooking times, AI for CX transforms how restaurants operate behind the scenes while delighting diners at the table.

In our guide, discover how AI helps restaurants create new and improved recipes for success—elevating CX to new heights.

More in this guide:

• Why should restaurants implement AI?
• 16 ways to use AI in restaurants
• Benefits of AI in restaurants
• Limitations of AI for restaurants
• Frequently asked questions
• Invest in your secret sauce with AI for restaurants

Why should restaurants implement AI?

Like salt enhances flavor and brings out the best in a dish, AI amplifies what makes your restaurant special while addressing industry challenges. Implementing AI in restaurants isn’t about staying trendy—it’s about creating a sustainable recipe for success in a competitive market.

According to the Zendesk CX Trends Report 2025, 70 percent of customers see a clear gap forming between businesses that use AI well and those that don’t. Establishments that embrace restaurant AI gain powerful advantages, including the ability to:

• Accurately predict customer needs.
• Optimize lull and peak staffing with workforce forecasting.

• Reduce food waste through smarter inventory management.

• Deliver consistent customer service, even when short-staffed.

For customer-facing operations, AI creates seamless experiences, from reservation to payment. Behind the scenes, it helps manage complex kitchen operations and supply chains. Plus, the most successful implementations of AI in restaurants don’t replace the human touch—they enhance it by freeing staff to focus on creating memorable moments rather than managing mundane tasks.

16 ways to use AI in restaurants

AI for restaurants brings a lot to the table, from the front of the house to the back office. Below, we explore some game-changing ways to incorporate this technology into your restaurant’s recipe for success.

1. AI phone answering

With AI phone systems and interactive voice response (IVR), never miss another customer call or opportunity to connect with your audience. These systems, including IVR software, help businesses:

• Handle multiple calls simultaneously.

• Maintain a warm, personalized touch.

• Answer common questions.

• Take orders with accuracy.

• Schedule reservations with 24/7 support.

With AI-powered phone systems, you can ensure your customers feel attended to, even during service peaks or after hours.

2. AI agents

AI agents, the next generation of AI-powered bots, work alongside your team to enhance omnichannel restaurant interactions—from website chat and SMS to email and social media. These intelligent digital agents autonomously handle routine and complex inquiries and process customer requests efficiently and personally. 

Our CX Trends Report also found that 68 percent of customers are more likely to engage with and trust AI agents when they exhibit human-like traits, including friendliness, empathy, and creativity—traits Zendesk AI agents are capable of expressing in a restaurant setting.

3. Hands-free and voice-activated systems

Voice-activated technologies and AI voice assistants allow teams to access information, update orders, and control equipment without touching a screen or button. These systems are particularly valuable in food preparation areas where hands may be occupied or contaminated, improving efficiency and hygiene for all kitchen and service staff.

4. Customer self-service

Give diners control over their experience with intuitive customer self-service, which allows them to:

• Browse menus.

• Customize orders.

• Request refills.

• Pay bills.

• Read FAQ.

This technology reduces wait times during peak hours while collecting valuable preference data that helps you better understand and meet your customers’ needs over time.

5. Ordering kiosks

Streamline ordering with intelligent kiosks and CX automation (CXA) options to simplify processing. Serve up the best customer experiences by ensuring these kiosks:

• Present an interactive and engaging menu.

• Suggest complementary items.

• Remember returning customers’ preferences.

• Process payments quickly.

Some modern AI-enhanced kiosks can also recognize customer intent, adapt for accessibility, and adjust recommendations based on inventory, creating a smooth ordering experience.

6. Order recommendations

Transform upselling into a science with AI systems that analyze customer preferences and ordering patterns to suggest tailored recommendations and prioritize personalized customer service. These intelligent platforms consider factors like historical purchases, complementary flavors, and current promotions to make suggestions that enhance the dining experience and ensure personalization is a foundational part of the restaurant experience.

7. Conversational marketing

According to Restaurant365’s market research study, 33 percent of restaurant operators plan to invest in AI-powered guest marketing. These operators can build deeper relationships through conversational marketing, which engages customers in natural, personalized discussions across channels.

From intelligently timed text message promotions to interactive social media campaigns, conversational commerce powered by AI tools helps restaurants maintain meaningful connections with guests—even beyond the dining experience.

8. Loyalty programs

Use AI for restaurants to elevate loyalty programs from simple point collection programs to personalized rewards and experiences. These sophisticated systems can identify your most valuable customers, predict when they might be at risk of churning, and automatically provide tailored incentives that build customer loyalty. Plus, AI-enhanced programs can help teams gather data and valuable insights, allowing them to refine their customer retention strategies continuously.

9. AI-powered chefs

Supplement your culinary team with AI-powered solutions that:

• Ensure consistent food preparation.

• Suggest creative new recipe combinations.

• Optimize cooking techniques.

• Maintain sanitation and safety standards.

• Support customer service quality assurance.

While this type of AI for restaurants won’t replace human creativity, it can monitor cooking parameters, predict when dishes will be ready, and develop signature menu items to match customer expectations.

10. Staffing and scheduling

According to Raydiant’s State of AI in Restaurants report, 38 percent of leaders agree that effective staff scheduling is the top benefit of AI for restaurants. AI-powered systems take the guesswork out of staffing decisions, help teams learn how to forecast effectively, and automate insight reporting. By analyzing historical data, upcoming events, weather forecasts, and local trends, these systems can predict restaurant peaks and lulls, which helps businesses maximize resources and improve restaurant customer service.

11. Inventory and purchasing management

Minimize waste and control costs with AI that tracks real-time inventory, predicts use patterns, and automatically generates purchase orders. Using AI for sales and operations planning (S&OP) also helps teams:

• Identify seasonal price fluctuations.

• Suggest alternative ingredients during shortages.

• Detect unusual consumption patterns.

Raydiant’s report also revealed that 34 percent of respondents believe AI will significantly impact supply chain and inventory management, making it a crucial tool for continued business growth and success.

12. Advanced insights

Gain a competitive edge with AI analytics that transform your raw operational data into actionable business intelligence. Restaurant AI systems use customer feedback, demographic and historical data, and more to identify subtle patterns in everything from table turnover rates to menu item performance. With these insights and platforms using AI for sales, restaurants can make better decisions about menu design, pricing strategies, service improvements, and marketing initiatives.

13. Restaurant-specific content creation

With AI content tools designed specifically for restaurants, you can create an AI knowledge base filled with fresh and engaging marketing materials. These AI tools help restaurant leaders generate compelling:

• Social media posts

• Email campaigns

• Menu descriptions

• Promotional materials

• FAQ pages

AI in restaurants also helps teams understand food terminology, dining psychology, and seasonal trends, ensuring you maintain a consistent brand voice while focusing on content marketing for sales.

14. Food and kitchen safety

Monitor food storage temperatures, detect potential contamination risks, and follow proper handling procedures by leveraging AI for restaurants. AI-powered sensors and computer vision technology are vigilant assistants for identifying food safety issues before they lead to foodborne illness or failed inspections, protecting your customers’ health and your restaurant’s reputation.

15. Dynamic pricing

According to a study by Toast, 29 percent of small full-service restaurants use AI to optimize and implement dynamic pricing. Regardless of size or operations, your restaurant can optimize its revenue with intelligent pricing systems that adjust menu item costs based on demand patterns, competitor analysis, ingredient costs, and time of day.

These sophisticated algorithms also help restaurants balance profitability with customer value, ensuring you capture maximum revenue during peak times while attracting customers during slower periods.

16. Financial organization and assistance

AI in finance and intelligent financial assistants simplify restaurant financial management by:

• Automating accounting tasks

• Flagging unusual expenses

• Anticipating cash flow

• Aligning sales and finance forecasts

• Identifying restaurant-specific tax-saving opportunities

Many of these systems can integrate with your current tech stack and inventory systems to provide real-time profitability analysis, helping you make informed decisions about your long-term business strategy.

Benefits of AI in restaurants

Just like a perfectly balanced meal combines diverse ingredients into one dish, AI for restaurants delivers multiple benefits that work together to elevate restaurant operations across the board. Let’s dive into these advantages below:

• Improved CX and service: AI streamlines customer interactions from reservation to payment and beyond. It reduces wait times and customer pain points while providing consistent service quality.

• Increased savings: By optimizing inventory, reducing waste, automating routine tasks, and fine-tuning staffing, AI in restaurants helps cut costs without sacrificing quality or customer satisfaction.

• Reduced human error: Intelligent automation and AI systems can maintain accuracy in ordering, inventory, and payment processing, reducing mistakes that can impact finances and customer trust.

• Personalized interactions: By analyzing past orders and preferences, AI creates personalized experiences for repeat customers, making them feel valued and understood.

• Enhanced lead generation: AI-powered marketing tools use targeted campaigns, social media engagement, and promotional strategies to attract diners to your establishment.

• Informed decision-making: Real-time analytics and forecasting provide insights into restaurant KPIs, emerging trends, and future opportunities, enabling strategic planning backed by solid data.

• Improved safety: Automated monitoring systems support food safety compliance, temperature regulation, and sanitation protocols, protecting customer health.

• Boosted customer loyalty: Personalization, efficiency, and consistent CX create stronger customer relations that translate into higher retention rates and valuable word-of-mouth marketing.

The benefits of AI in restaurants compound over time, creating a cycle of improved operations, enhanced satisfaction, and stronger financial performance that support long-term success.

Limitations of AI for restaurants

AI in restaurants also presents some challenges that require careful consideration. However, the right AI tools and solutions can effectively address these limitations:

• Implementation: The initial investment in restaurant AI can be substantial, requiring not only financial resources for hardware and software but also integration, training, and adjustment resources. With a solution like Zendesk AI, your systems can be ready out of the box in days instead of months.

• Human touch: AI excels at efficiency and consistency, but some tools cannot replicate warmth, intuition, and emotional intelligence. However, tools like Zendesk AI agents can provide human-like services and memorable restaurant experiences.

• Acceptance: Staff and customers may be resistant to new technologies, sometimes preferring traditional service models. Businesses adopting AI in restaurants must create open feedback loops where personal interaction is valued.

• AI transparency: Restaurants must navigate ethical considerations around data collection and use. By choosing an AI partner like Zendesk—which prioritizes open, transparent discussions about customer data management—restaurants can ensure privacy and security compliance.

Successful restaurants find a balance between AI and human hospitality. The key lies not in replacing the human touch but in using AI strategically to enhance it.

Frequently asked questions

Customer story module

• https://www.zendesk.com/customer/grilld/

Invest in your secret sauce with AI for restaurants

AI for restaurants can be a distinctive competitive advantage, much like a signature dish defines a restaurant’s identity. Restaurant AI and tools like AI copilot aren’t just digital gadgets—they’re crucial ingredients for creating a dining experience that’s more efficient for your team and more satisfying for your guests.

However, the most successful applications of AI don’t overshadow the essential human element that makes dining out special. Rather, restaurant leaders must find the perfect balance between technology and tradition, blending innovation and hospitality to produce memorable experiences while building a more sustainable business.