Almost everything in this world is becoming technology driven, and most all businesses use tools, apps and technology to make work easier, more efficient, and in a way cost effective as well. New innovative methods using artificial intelligence has been invented in recent times especially with the Covid-19 pandemic situation around the globe, where people are restricted in terms of accessibility and close associations with each other.
Even before this situation of social distancing and restrictions, artificial intelligence was beginning to revolutionize the way that restaurants and hotels work. Daily tasks became more efficient, accurate and people found these new tech gadgets to be interesting enough to patronize those establishments. The down side? They eliminated the human side to doing business.
Used to seeing the chefs in a restaurant with their fancy chef coats and cook shirts? Well, now there is AI that can even do the cooking in a restaurant, eliminating any chances of food getting contaminated through touch. This reduces costs in terms of labor and other related expenses, including uniforms, since you will not need to buy outfits like kitchen shirts etc for all your staff.
Some of the AI based tools and methods used by restaurants currently are:
- Chatbots and Apps to handle customer inquiries, reservations and orders. These can be used with both voice and text.
- Robotics for food preparation and service.
- AI based recommendation engines to help customers choose the best dish according to their preferences.
- AI driven food kiosks that offer faster and more efficient service.
What are some of the ways that artificial intelligence has transformed restaurants in recent years?
- Voice assisted ordering – The future trend for ordering your food is through voice assistants such as Alexa and Google Assistant, and the restaurant’s AI software will queue up the orders just like it was done manually, but in a more efficient and error free manner. In this day and age, with new restrictions being imposed everywhere to curtail the spread of the Covid-19 virus, contactless ordering and delivery services are in high demand.
- Better customer experiences – In recent times we live in a world that is built on social media presence, whether you are a business or an individual. People love novelty, and love things that they can post to their social media channels, and AI driven restaurants are just the thing for them. In addition, with more information getting stored regarding the preferences of guests, you can give your customers a mor personalized experience.
- Better insights – Your AI tools can provide better insights which can help you propel your business to new horizons, gaining more knowledge which can help you improve in many areas, and earn greater revenue and profits.
- Streamlining purchasing and other aspects – With technology driven tools you know exactly what your inventory is and you can streamline all the other aspects of your business such as purchasing, stock control etc, accordingly. More than anything, food waste, which is a huge problem for restaurant businesses, can be minimized through the introduction of efficient systems.
- HR Processes – Your human resource processes, for whatever staff you have in your organization, can also be more efficient with innovative systems, where shift management, internal communications, leave scheduling and similar tasks can be sorted out more efficiently and effectively.
If you are a small business, you may wonder if investing in expensive technology and tools will actually be worth it for you, but if you consider the fact that in the coming years more and more businesses will be taking this path, then it is certainly a good investment to make right now, and will definitely add value to your business as you grow. Innovation is inevitable, you cannot avoid it and you cannot be on a side, looking on as others progress.
Of course, having a technology driven restaurant won’t bring you success on its own, you will need to target the right audience as well. Technology appeals to the younger generation, to those working with it all the time, and those willing to experiment and experience new things. Hence you need to target the right audience if you are going in for such a business. Older generations may not be tech savvy enough to use high tech tools and apps for ordering at a restaurant and may prefer the human connection after all. Therefore, when looking at revolutionizing your restaurant or hotel with the latest AI based tools, make sure you are changing the other aspects of your business model as well.
