August 2024

Momos Raises $10 Million to Expand its AI-Powered Customer Platform for Multi-Location Restaurants Its drive-thru voice assistants can be found taking orders at White Castle and Panda Express. More announcements are coming soon, company spokesperson told Food on Demand. The company’s voice AI for phone orders is currently its most prolific offering, she said. More than 20 large scale brands covering thousands of locations use this technology, including Jersey Mike’s, Papa Johns, Casey’s, and Chipotle. In December, SoundHound AI merged with SYNQ3 Restaurant Solutions, a leading provider of voice AI. Presto is a pioneer in AI-driven automation solutions for the restaurant industry, with a particular focus on revolutionizing drive-thru operations. The company’s flagship product, Presto Voice, addresses critical challenges such as labor shortages while generating new revenue streams and enhancing customer experiences. By leveraging advanced speech recognition and conversational AI, Presto Voice seamlessly integrates with major POS systems to streamline and optimize drive-thru operations. To cater for this space, many start-ups have emerged offering innovative solutions to the industry including Foodsi, GreenBytes, Freshflow, Positive Carbon, among others worldwide. Bloomberg reported that the deal was partly for a chatbot named “Ask Pickles” that employees could use for guidance on things like cleaning ice cream machines. Even so, Google partnered with Wendy’s, which started testing drive-thru AI based on its tech last year and has since expanded that trial. AI can make real-time upselling smarter, modifying suggestions based on inventory, time of day, and weather conditions. For instance, on a hot day, the system might suggest cold beverages or ice cream. Increasing sales through tailored suggestions can be a game-changer for operators who often face thin profit margins. AI Waitress: The Role of Robots in Restaurant Service Pretty rapidly, we got down the path of generative AI as a capability we might be able to implement to start to drive a lot of improvements across the customer and crew experiences. John Dittig joined MicroTouch in January 2024 as the Global Vice President with a focus on Business Development and Partnerships. MicroTouch, the global leader in capacitive touch solutions, celebrates over 40 years as an innovator in touch technology, with more than 50 million touchscreen installations in 80 countries worldwide, and 100-plus patents. Notably, Del Taco abandoned its AI voicebot trial earlier this year after facing challenges. Since joining Givex in 2007, Mo Chaar has helped the company expand its North American footprint. He began his tenure as a Business DevelopmentManager before becoming Vice President of Sales for North America, and then moved to his current role of Chief Commercial Officer. In this role, Chaar oversees commercial strategy and development worldwide as well as managing the sales teams within North America. His experience in gift card, loyalty and POS has played a pivotal role in the success of some of Givex’s largest partners. As Givex continues to expand on a global level, with a wide array of product offerings, there is a need to keep the teams aligned on pricing, product and sales approach. This brings Momos’ total funding to $17 million, providing a runway of approximately three years. Food On Demand Outstanding Operators features restaurant brands with innovative operations that are taking creative paths to success with delivery and all things off-premises. Joe Reinstein, executive director of the Digital Restaurant Association, noted that while it’s still “early days” for AI-powered restaurant tech, he acknowledged that such advanced technologies can solve real problems for restaurants. I’ll share a bit on the evolution of the company and maybe that’ll give you some perspective on that question. The reason platforms like Toast took off is a lot of this technology, believe it or not, in 2012 and 2013 was actually in servers in the restaurant. Enhance Staffing and Scheduling After all, a well-crafted first impression sets the tone for the entire hiring process, enticing top talent to join the team. Restaurants are already becoming more technologically forward, from interactive QR code menus to tap-to-order kiosks to reservation apps like OpenTable. According to a study from Hospitality Technology, 78 percent of restaurant IT budgets will increase in 2024. Given this, genAI is most likely to show up as a new feature in technology restaurant workers already use. Ideally, genAI will make it easier for employees to do their jobs by acting as a virtual assistant; in conversing with the assistant, employees can bypass complicated processes and get instant access to the information that will make them more productive. Ever since Google rolled out its AI-generated summaries on Search, the tech giant’s summaries are the first thing a person might see if they were to search for local tourist destinations in a new city. But those results are culled together from an automated analysis of internet entries—including tons of Reddit pages. As such, it would appear (according to Calgie) that London Redditors are writing rave reviews of an oft-criticized steak restaurant chain, in an effort to drive tourists there and away from other locations. “This technology is proven to have some of the most comprehensive capabilities in the industry, fast and accurate in some of the most demanding conditions,” the company said in a statement. “While McDonald’s is reevaluating and refining its plans for AOT, we look forward to continuing to work with them on a variety of other projects.” Although McDonald’s partnership with IBM on Automated Order Taker has ended, the food company said it would continue to explore how technology can improve its workflow. Taco Bell, the Mexican-inspired American fast-food chain, is making a technological leap by introducing artificial intelligence (AI) powered drive-thrus to hundreds of its US locations. This move, described as the company’s biggest change to date, follows a trial run in 100 stores across 13 states. The fast-food chain’s ultimate goal is to implement this technology in all its restaurants, signaling a strong belief in AI’s potential to revolutionize the customer experience. Personalized menu suggestions, higher order accuracy scores, improved loyalty programs, and faster services can create an efficient and enjoyable drive-thru experience, leading to