Among the restaurant leaders who’ve already adopted artificial intelligence or plan to implement the technology soon, finding use cases or choosing the right solution on the market have receded slightly compared with last year as challenges. However, a plurality of respondents still struggle with costs to implement AI and worry they don’t have enough expertise on their current staff to optimize their use of these tools. How do they mitigate these risks while still investing for the future?
Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Business asked more than 350 foodservice leaders from all segments how they’re implementing artificial intelligence and evaluating their ROI.
Making the Case for AI
Market Leader Report
An industry study of nearly 400 foodservice leaders.
What do you think will be the effect of AI across the restaurant industry?
August 2026
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23%
Significant Positive
Nearly two in three operators think artificial intelligence will have positive effects on the foodservice industry.
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Most restaurant leaders indicated that the gains they’re most likely to realize from artificial intelligence would be greater efficiency and time saved from tasks that take them away from their mission to provide hospitality. As such, it’s unsurprising that inventory management was the most popular choice for operations areas that respondents would like to see automated with AI, cited by about half of operators in this study. More than a third of participants, including nearly half of all quick-service operators, also see an attractive ability for AI to optimize their scheduling and labor management.
Operators Take Stock of AI’s Potential
Key Findings
Nearly half
41%
Slight
Positive
15%
No Major
Effect
Automate and Innovate
of all operators pointed to automated inventory management as a likely benefit of expanding their AI usage.
AI for Restaurants: Accelerating Innovation
64%
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11%
I'm Not
Sure
If your restaurant could automate more of its operations and strategy,
which capabilities would you most want to pursue?
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10%
Negative
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