But, unlike cereal milk lattes, scrambled pancakes, and the rest<\/em> of this year\u2019s \u201chere today, gone tomorrow\u201d trends, AI trends<\/span><\/a> aren\u2019t as fragile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With only a few months left in 2025, we expect nothing less from AI trends than a strong end to the year. Then, in 2026\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n We predict a massive acceleration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The popularity of restaurant AI is only going to grow next year, with popular trends like voice assistants and predictive analytics getting bigger, stronger, and more impactful than ever before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this blog, we\u2019ll share the four restaurant AI trends to watch in 2026\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n But not without taking a moment to appreciate how far restaurant AI has come, first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Restaurant AI has steadily gained popularity over the past few years, but it\u2019s not as new a concept as you might think. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In reality, AI has been used in restaurants for longer than ChatGPT has been \u201calive\u201d \u2014 it just looked a bit different (and a lot simpler) back then. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Domino\u2019s Pizza, for example, is often deemed one of the oldest AI users in the restaurant industry, launching voice assistant \u201cDom\u201d back in October 2014<\/span><\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Dom enabled users to place orders verbally<\/span><\/a> through Domino\u2019s app, toggling on their microphones to tell Dom what size pizza they wanted or even ask for suggestions. Then, once Dom had put the pizza order in the cart, users could complete their checkout manually. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So, while decade-old AI like Dom is undoubtedly far less sophisticated than our current voice assistant models, he perfectly represents what \u201cAI of restaurants past\u201d was like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n A fairly basic augmentation of a mostly manual process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, in 2025, AI is still used to augment manual restaurant processes, but it\u2019s less \u201ckeep the manual checkout\u201d and more \u201cautomate the entire thing\u201d than older AI like Dom \u2014 a perspective that\u2019ll keep evolving with 2026\u2019s increasingly sophisticated trends. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Throughout 2025, operators saw two things change in their customers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n First, the amount of time people were willing to wait in line or on hold had decreased. In a Valero survey about waiting on hold<\/span><\/a>, 60% of customers said they wouldn\u2019t wait for longer than a minute\u2026 and 32% reported they wouldn\u2019t wait at all. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Second, people started craving faster and easier service. That includes everything from payment, with 49% of consumers<\/span><\/a> preferring the faster contactless payment option, to ordering, with 47% of consumers<\/span><\/a> saying they\u2019d skip a drive-thru-less establishment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, in 2026, we expect restaurants to better cater to both<\/em> preferences with AI-powered drive-thru solutions \u2014 like Bo-Linda, Bojangles\u2019 new AI-powered, drive-thru voice system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bo-Linda was created by tech company Hi Auto, designed to decrease the drive-thru\u2019s dependence on (human) employees while improving service speed and accuracy for a better customer experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And, based on the initial 200-store rollout,<\/span><\/a> things are going really well. So far, Bo-Linda has reduced \u201cemployee workload by a third,<\/span><\/a>\u201d taking payments, upselling, and <\/em>maintaining an impressive 95% order accuracy the whole time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe has become so integral to the restaurant\u2019s operations that workers now think of her as another employee,\u201d said Richard Del Valle, Bojangles CIO.<\/span><\/a> \u201cIf we told the team we were taking it out, we think they\u2019d be pretty unhappy with us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2025, restaurants recognized the huge importance customers place on personalization. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to a customer experience study<\/span><\/a> from earlier this year, 81% of consumers<\/span><\/a> prefer companies that offer personalization, especially when those efforts happen on platforms they already use<\/span><\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Combine the desire for people to be met where they are with the 62% of consumers<\/span><\/a> who shop on their phones and mobile personalization emerges as a clear-cut winner\u2026 but how can your restaurant actually offer that personalized experience? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Simple: a mobile app, Customer Data Platforms (CDPs), and AI push notifications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Once your restaurant has a mobile app \u2014 which is a necessity for push notifications! \u2014 adopting a CDP with AI capabilities is the next step to better personalization. <\/p>\n\n\n\n CDPs take data from different areas of your business, amalgamating information into what Segment calls an \u201cunderstandable unified customer profile<\/span><\/a>.\u201d Then, you can use that data to inform new highly segmented, highly personalized marketing efforts like AI push notifications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This combination of tech solutions not only meets your customers where they are \u2014 because Americans spend ~4.5 hours on their phones<\/span><\/a> daily \u2014 but it also delivers the hyper-personalized experience your customers are looking for with AI-guided segmentation and targeting strategies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2026, we predict that more restaurants will start leveraging the personalization triple threat that is mobile apps, CDPs, and AI push notifications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Using AI to automate kitchen operations has become far more popular in 2025. <\/p>\n\n\n\n From boosting efficiencies with solutions like White Castle\u2019s AI-voice bot<\/span><\/a> to automated restaurants,<\/span><\/a> AI automation has proven to be both versatile and effective in improving operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But, perhaps the best part of AI-powered kitchen automation is the secondary impact it can have outside<\/em> of the kitchen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Take Chipotle, for example. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The brand recently announced<\/span><\/a> that its digital makeline and avocado-prepping systems were going through final checks and tests before heading straight to pilot testing. And, while both of these AI systems were designed with prep in mind, their impact will actually be much greater than that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alongside more streamlined prep, both automation systems will also free up employee labor, support sustainability and waste reduction initiatives, save money with a greater yield-per-product, maintain a more consistent product quality\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n And offer a bunch of other benefits<\/span><\/a> outside<\/em> of the automation\u2019s original intention, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThese robotic devices could help us build a stronger operational engine,\u201d said Chipotle\u2019s Chief Customer and Tech Officer, Curt Garner<\/span><\/a>. \u201c[One] that delivers a great experience for our team members and our guests while maintaining Chipotle’s high culinary standards.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n With how holistic the positive impact of AI-powered restaurant automation can be, we predict these efforts will only increase (and continue to improve) in 2026. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This year, the industry also saw restaurant AI being used for predictive analytics and different optimization efforts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One popular use case for AI-powered predictive analytics is food waste reduction. Sustainability efforts are becoming increasingly important to restaurateurs and diners alike, especially considering the restaurant industry\u2019s contribution<\/span><\/a> to America\u2019s food waste problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And, when you look at the work Winnow is doing, the power of AI and predictive technology in sustainability becomes incredibly clear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Winnow has been helping restaurants reduce food waste for years, most famously using their smart-scale tech and AI-powered analytics to reduce food waste in IKEA restaurants by 54%.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n With their own AI-powered cameras, Winnow scans, measures, and records food waste<\/span><\/a>, displaying the results on an easy-to-read digital screen. Then, Winnow uses collected data for predictive analytics, offering AI-informed suggestions on inventory amounts, preparation optimizations, and waste minimization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c[This system] makes it really easy for us to gather accurate data on what\u2019s being wasted in these kitchens,\u201d said Marc Zornes, Co-Founder of Winnow.<\/span><\/a> \u201cAnd it\u2019s important that you make the [waste reduction] process easy because kitchens are very busy places.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2026, we predict more restaurants will turn to AI-powered predictive analytics to help them optimize their inventory and prep while improving their sustainability efforts and reducing their environmental impact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With all of the advancements in restaurant AI over the past couple of years, it can feel intimidating trying to figure out where to begin or what tech to explore first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But it doesn\u2019t have to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Craver\u2019s range of AI-powered features and integrations make it easy for your restaurant to start leveraging AI now<\/em> while developing the tech foundation you\u2019ll need in the future<\/em>, too. <\/p>\n\n\n\nHow Restaurant AI Has Changed (And Improved)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
4 Restaurant AI Trends to Watch in 2026<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Drive-Thru Voice AI for Faster, Better Service<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Bogjangles](\"https:\/\/www.getcraver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Bogjangles-DriveThru.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n2. AI Push Notifications for Highly Personalized Marketing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Craver](\"https:\/\/www.getcraver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Craver-Mobile-Push-Notification.png\")
<\/p>\n\n\n\n3. AI Kitchen Automation for Streamlined Operations<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
4. Predictive Analytics Using AI for Menu Optimization<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Chef](\"https:\/\/www.getcraver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Restaurant-Inventory-Management.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nStart Exploring Restaurant AI with Craver <\/h2>\n\n\n\n