We have heard again and again how Artificial Intelligence is coming for our jobs and will leave us as piles of flesh vegetating in front of our TVs. Well… before we get to that point, AI might at least make your job of running a restaurant a lot easier!
Square’s New AI Tools
Square, best known for facilitating credit card transactions, announced ten new AI tools for businesses this month. Restaurant owners will be most interested in the Menu Generator. The Menu Generator uses a simple input interface with generative AI tools to create a menu that includes ingredients and prices. It’s a tool Square said was primarily useful for “restaurant sellers who don’t have or aren’t ready to upload a menu during onboarding.” *
Another tool helpful for a small restaurant is their Photo Environments. This can edit photos by creating AI-generated backgrounds and lighting so businesses can create professional-looking promotional materials.
“As a one-woman small business, any tools that can save me time or money are tremendously helpful,” said Carissa Smith, owner of small batch candle store Fuddy Duddy Co. in Merriam, Kansas. “Square’s Photo Studio app has helped me on both fronts as I’ve transitioned to selling online. Instead of spending hundreds of dollars on props and backdrops, and hours of time staging my inventory, I was able to use the app’s new AI environments to quickly bring my catalog to life with backgrounds that fit the themes of my various products.” 2.
Square has other AI tools that help owners and managers communicate with customers and teams by email using customized prompts and AI-generated copy, with a choice of topic, length, and tone.
Operations can be streamlined using Kitchen categories:
Kitchen categories: In restaurants, even kitchen operations can be optimized with AI – now, Square KDS can auto-assign menu items to kitchen categories and station screens to create smooth workflows for back-of-house staff. Restaurant managers can keep menus and operations up to date by editing and saving catalogs with just a few clicks, expediting the process of getting orders filled. 2.
Microsoft and Domino’s
Domino’s and Microsoft just announced that they will use Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service to simplify, enhance, and personalize the ordering process. The technology will be deployed to stores within the next six months.
Domino’s is currently in the “early stages of developing a generative AI assistant powered by Azure OpenAI Service to help store managers save time on daily tasks such as inventory management, ingredient ordering and staff scheduling,” per the release. These tools are expected to improve pizza preparation and quality control, leaving managers more time to dedicate to the team member experience and customer service.
Domino’s has already experimented with AI to dispatch pizzas to drivers before the driver returns to the store, speeding up turnaround time and allowing drivers not to take up parking spaces.
AI is Here
Although AI’s impact on the restaurant industry and other industries has yet to be determined, the idea that the technology is a distant dream is clearly misguided.
If creating newsletters or promotional materials can be better and more efficient using these tools, they will quickly become common throughout the industry.
The most accessible of these tools are already to the everyday user in the form of Square’s new AI tools, but also in services like Grammarly, which help detect errors in copy for websites and emails. If you haven’t looked into these tools, follow the links below for more information.
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