The food and beverage industry is changing very fast. Millennials are making up for the majority of the fast customers in restaurants because they are estimated to eat out more than any other generation. They are going out more and these changing demographics bring about a changing trend and taste of food preferences, as most of the restaurant chains are coming to discover. To help restaurants understand their clients more, AI is becoming paramount in how restaurants run.
A dining experience will always revolve around making sure that a guest is getting quality food service that matches the value they expect from the restaurant. But according to Andrew Charlton, “the future of dining depends on a restaurant’s understanding on how guests want to interact with them, as well as the value placed on these interactions for the clients to receive a convenient and seamless service for their needs.”
Andrew Charlton believes that new technology will make restaurants to achieve an even higher understanding of their customers through interaction on a large scale. This will enable restaurants to personalize their services and interactions and engage with customers wherever and however the customers prefer. Restaurants that will indulge in this manner will rise to the top of the food chain. Let us look at ways in which restaurants can benefit from AI.
AI allows for location intelligence to help restaurants understand their market
With location intelligence, real data and raw data are combined with location data derived from huge databases to examine each variable. Complex methods of analysis are used to predict the presence of the closest competitor. The AI systems will also learn the environment you want to branch in to give you a prediction of your profitability on each location.
AI will enable you to stock your restaurant accordingly
AI systems which utilize GIS-based tools will work to give you a sharper picture of who your customers are and their behaviors. This kind of intelligence will enable you to plan how to reach your perfect customer base. This will help you to accurately target your customers with the right media advertising online.
Once you have your marketing set, you can use location intelligence to prepare for your inventory. Different types of demographics will lean heavily on different menu items depending on the location and also on other factors like education, age, daily behaviors and so on.
Using chatbots to understand their customers
At the onset, chatbots will empower table reservations and offer customers with location-based offers. AI in this respect is not only used to harvest data but provide its users with convenient services. A restaurant can utilize chatbots in different voice and social platforms, to allow you to learn the desires of your guests, what they want to talk about, what makes them order a particular item over another, and the triggers of their purchases.
Using chatbots to engage with a large number of customers simultaneously in real time
These chatbots can be used to tailor conversations with guests on Facebook and Twitter to make suggestions for the next foods that they want to take. AI provides a restaurant with the capability of expanding the depth and breadth of the guest interaction by allowing machine learning and quick responses to each guest. It is easy to lose interest in someone who takes 5 minutes duration to respond to you. But through AI, responses are done in real time in a human-like fashion and they can interact with any number of guests across different platforms simultaneously. This is a massive win.
AI should also be used by the restaurant to allow managers to gain insight on what they should improve on to provide quality services to their customers. They can capture different data points across the restaurant which will then make suggestions for specific actions that will support more guests loyalty and even staff efficiency.
AI can compliment your human errors
When a customer walks into a restaurant, they want more than just food. They want to experience the whole service, from interactions with the staff to enjoy the meal that they are serving. It might be understandable that as a restaurant owner, you want human interaction to be as constant as possible in a machine automated world.
But as a restaurant owner, you should not be scared of automation. You don’t have to let robots serve the food, but artificial intelligence will help you run your service more efficiently if you can easily realize your shortcomings and use automation to strengthen your weaknesses.
It is said that when someone is doing well on their task, it will not be obvious that anything went wrong. Customers will not remember the automated service that made their experience pleasant. What makes a customer happy is the quality of service they receive. Ensure that you employ the best smart technology you can get to provide the best service to your customer.
