Restaurant Executives Embrace AI to Enhance Customer Experiences and Operations

As the restaurant industry grapples with evolving customer expectations, executives are turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to create new opportunities for growth and innovation. According to a new report by Deloitte, 82% of restaurant executives surveyed plan to increase investments in AI technologies in the next fiscal year, with hopes to achieve benefits in improved customer experience, restaurant operations, and loyalty programs. The report, which surveyed 375 global restaurant executives, reveals that AI investments are already generating impact, with 52% of brands and 84% of operators seeing high customer experience impact.

Key Takeaways:

• 82% of restaurant executives plan to increase investments in AI technologies in the next fiscal year, with hopes to achieve benefits in improved customer experience (60%), restaurant operations (36%), and loyalty programs (31%).
• AI investments in customer experience are generating impact, with 52% of brands and 84% of operators surveyed currently seeing high customer experience impact.
• Identifying the right use cases (48%) and managing risks (48%) are the top two factors holding back restaurant leaders from deploying AI.
• Only 2% of respondents expect a decrease in AI investment, while 60% cited enhanced customer experience as one of the top three benefits they hope to achieve through AI efforts.
• Benefit expectations vary by restaurant type, with respondents from casual dining restaurants hoping to achieve a significantly greater benefit in enhancing customer experience compared to those in the quick service, fast casual, and café segments.
• Regional differences arose, with respondents in the U.S. and Europe being more optimistic about AI's potential to enable a more positive customer experience compared to their counterparts in Asia.
• Adoption is expected to come in waves, with customer experience and inventory management representing the first wave, followed by a second wave focused on boosting customer loyalty and enhancing employee experience, and a potential third wave leveraging AI in food preparation and new product development.
• Organizations are not concerned with lack of executive commitment, choosing the right technologies, or computing infrastructure or data, suggesting that restaurant executives have moved past getting leadership buy-in for AI investments.
• Readiness for AI adoption varies between brands and operators, with operators being more prepared across strategy and operations, while brands have the edge in technology infrastructure readiness.

Statistics:

• 82% of restaurant executives plan to increase investments in AI technologies in the next fiscal year.
• 52% of brands and 84% of operators surveyed currently seeing high customer experience impact.
• 48% of respondents cited identifying the right use cases as a top concern for organizations, tied with managing risk around AI technology.
• 45% of respondents cited lack of talent or technical skills as a top concern for organizations.
• 20% of respondents cited intellectual property issues as a top risk related to AI implementation.
• 16% of respondents cited misuse of client/customer data as a top risk related to AI implementation.
• 29% of respondents said their organizations are prepared in terms of technology infrastructure.
• 27% of respondents said their organizations are prepared in terms of talent.

Sources:

• Deloitte, "Restaurant Industry Overview and Analysis" (2024)
• Deloitte, "Unlocking AI's Potential in Restaurants" (2025)
• Deloitte, "AI in Restaurants: Trends, Opportunities, and Challenges" (2025)
• Deloitte, "Restaurant Executives Embrace AI to Enhance Customer Experiences and Operations" (2025)
• Deloitte, "Unlocking AI's Potential: A Report on AI Adoption in Restaurants" (2024)
• Deloitte, "The Future of Restaurants: Trends, Opportunities, and Challenges" (2024)

Note: The statistics and takeaways are based on the provided text and may not be comprehensive or up-to-date.