How to Use AI in Your Restaurant to Improve Customer Experience?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has permeated every aspect of our lives, from the way we edit our favourite photos on the phone to the self-driving cars on the road. AI has been adopted increasingly in the industrial space with Autonomous Robots and cobots, among others. Why should the restaurant service sector be left behind? As a restaurant owner, one can leverage AI in Restaurant Industry to significantly enhance the customer experience, streamline operations, and boost efficiency.

There are several areas where AI can be used in the service sector where they can be used either for enhancing the customer experience where loyalty and revenues would increase or for optimizing the back-office operations which can reduce the food costs or for ensuring supervision across stores which can be a big problem for a chain restaurant brand or robots for cooking and serving the customers. All of these can easily with the robust AI-powered Restaurant Billing Software.

The AI revolution in the restaurant industry has just begun.

Key AI Applications in Restaurants

1.Personalized Dining Experiences

Personalization is what makes customers keep going back to their favourite place. AI can make personalization a reality! Vision AI through the cameras installed can identify the customer and then through an ML Engine curate a personalized recommendation of menu items to the customer. This solution combines Vision AI and machine learning algorithms that work in tandem with point-of-sale (POS) software.

2.Loyalty Program

Usually, most restaurants may not have a very structured loyalty program. The cashier or the owner would depend upon their memory to identify the customer and then offer discounts or some loyalty reward dynamically. AI can help solve this problem by recognising the customer and then curating a personalized reward for their loyalty thus ensuring every customer gets to use their loyalty points without fail.

3.Inventory Forecasting

Inventory planning is one of the biggest pain areas for any restaurant. No restaurant owner or manager will want to say the dreaded “out of stock” to their customers or end up with huge waste because of overstocking. To avoid either of these two situations, AI-enabled inventory forecasting tools can help analyse the past data, look at external parameters such as weather, and events, among others and then recommend the inventory levels needed for specific dates and times. This ensures the optimal level of inventory and also would factor in parameters that the restaurant managers might have overlooked.

4.Demographic identification

Imagine being a marketing head of a chain of restaurants across the country without knowing what the demographics of your customers look like. Are there more females than males? what is the approximate age of the female cohort? what time of the day does the Gen Z come? how long do they hang around the restaurant?  All these factors would help in curating promotions and campaigns for each store specifically. Without this information, the copy-paste marketing strategies would not work across all the stores and regions.

5.SOP supervision in the restaurant

Vision AI through the help of cameras across the floor of the restaurant can help spot any deviations in the SOPs. For Vision AI tools can highlight if there is a table top that has been kept unclean for a certain long duration, OR if the chefs have not worn their caps and aprons to maintain hygiene. These supervisory roles are something that AI can easily facilitate at a scale.

6.Reducing Online Orders Disputes

One of the biggest challenges that restaurants face is the quality disputes of online orders. The customers raise a variety of complaints from missing sauces to reduced quantity. AI can largely help in settling disputes where every dish that is about to be packed and delivered is kept under a camera and then the photo is taken. This is analyzed against many other photos taken earlier and then the tool gives a GO or No Go. If it is a No Go, there is also a reason shown so that they can be rectified before shipping. This is a huge win for both restaurants and customers.

7.Robots for cooking and serving

World over, there is a shortage of skilled labour across industries. This is true for the restaurant industry too. AI Robots are taking over the kitchens in the restaurants where the robots can cook the food with modifications to suit the taste. Similarly, to avoid the dependency on the waiters showing up, especially during the holiday season, robots are being deployed on the restaurant floor to ferry the dishes and serve the customers.

AI is here to stay in the restaurant industry. If you’re looking to navigate this new technology effectively, QPOS is here to help. Our AI-powered restaurant billing software offers comprehensive POS solutions that can elevate your business. Schedule a free demo with one of our experts to see how QPOS can transform your restaurant.