AI and hospitality: How to find the right balance

What’s your favorite part of hospitality? Is it seeing your vision come to life or meeting new faces (and recognizing regulars)? Maybe it’s pitching that new menu item idea to your work bestie.

The truth is, humans are social creatures. Whether it’s connecting over a latte or inside jokes born in the back of house during closing, we bounce ideas off of each other, support one another and help clean up each other’s messes. Hospitality is inherently personable and can’t function without the hard workers (you) that make it all possible. Hospitality without humans would be like watching Netflix with no ice cream (I know, the horror).   

But a new, digital age is here. AI’s continued advancement is inevitable and is becoming more ingrained in our daily lives. How can restaurant operators use our new computerized counterparts to help advance business practices, streamline operations and increase efficiency without losing that spark of human connection so intrinsic to the industry? 

We’ve all seen it. Whether it’s asking ChatGPT which pizza toppings you should get, proofreading that email or seeing those creepy Facebook videos, the age of AI is here. With the list of pros and cons for this auto-generated age growing daily, restaurant operators are tasked with another difficult decision (as if running restaurants wasn't hard enough already): whether or not incorporating AI is the right decision for your business. And more importantly, how do you leverage AI in your restaurant in a way that complements and doesn’t overpower the humanizing aspects of hospitality?

According to a recent study by Popmenu, which surveyed 359 U.S. restaurant operators and 1,000 consumers, one-third of restaurants are already incorporating AI into their business practices, with 48% planning to do so in the next year. 

The downsides of artificial intelligence revolve around everything from environmental concerns, declining cognitive skills, job displacement and loss of human interaction. The pros include increased efficiency, productivity, round-the-clock availability and predictive analytics. 

Before we talk about AI best practices, let’s take a look at the pros and cons of using AI in your restaurant:

Pros:

• Inventory management - AI can automate inventory tracking in real time, track expiration dates of perishable items and recommend ideal stock levels, helping to reduce waste and operational costs.

• Sales forecasting -  Using predictive analytics and historical data, AI can automatically generate your projected sales, helping with performance insights, goal tracking and budgeting.

• Smart scheduling - AI can predict staff needs through tracking in-person and online ordering, assign shifts based on staff availability or preferred working hours and automate shift swaps.
• Optimizing table reservations - AI’s automated reservations can use past booking data to offer table reservation optimization and personalized recommendations for guests (predictive analytics for the win again).

Cons:

• Impersonal service - Less social interaction—whether it's between guests and hospitality staff or among the staff themselves—can chip away at social skills and even impact cognitive function. Plus, AI might struggle with off-script challenges that call for empathy or tricky decision-making, which could result in not-so-great customer experiences.
• Initial investment - Initial implementation of AI services can sometimes be costly, making it not the most attainable choice for smaller, single-unit restaurants. For example, systems that support utility bill automation may come at a significant initial cost even if they save money later on. There’s also a risk of widespread AI use increasing electricity demand nationwide, which might also bump up overall operating costs.
• Faulty technology - As with all technology, there is always a risk of system bugs or hiccups. This can lead to organizational disruption and confusion, resulting in negative customer experiences.
• Employee displacement fears - Concerns about job displacement due to AI are not unfounded. Historically, technological advancements have had an impact on the labor market. However, there’s some good news:
  

5 practical ways for restaurant staff and AI to work together

Now that we’ve tackled the good, the bad and the automated, let’s address the AI-lephant in the room. Despite the advancements of AI, nothing can truly replace human interaction, especially within the hospitality industry. 

According to the 2025 World Happiness Report, sharing meals with others and interacting with those around us during mealtime have implications for overall happiness and social satisfaction. 

Another lovely aspect of the hospitality industry is the personalized experiences guests can have. Whether it’s your local coffee shop remembering your order, that waitress pronouncing your name correctly or finding commonalities among your coworkers, social interaction within the hospitality industry leads to an increase in improved social skills, overall customer satisfaction and restaurant staff feeling valued and appreciated, leading to increased workplace productivity and overall job satisfaction. 

Here’s how to use AI in your restaurant to enhance staff support, maintain a personal touch and streamline operations:

1. AI-powered employee training

AI-powered training tools can lead to faster, automated onboarding, real-time performance insights and personalized development plans, helping hospitality staff to quickly adapt and improve their skills. Additionally, automated training can occur in-person or online, so no need to stress over training schedules.

✨ Tech tip: Use engaging, game-based training to track live feedback from employees, keep them motivated and make learning fun and engaging.

2. Handling administrative tasks

Using AI for administrative work can lead to a reduced administrative workload for staff, freeing up time to engage with customers and handle more complex tasks.

✨ Tech tip: Use restaurant management tools to integrate POS and accounting systems, automatically track budgets and labor costs and track vendor pricing history.

3. Internal communications

AI tools can help managers quickly draft important messages to staff about scheduling, new hires, critical updates or finding meeting times.

✨ Tech tip: Use communications tools and  AI-powered smart scheduling to streamline updates, schedule messages in advance and ensure everyone gets the right info at the right time—no more chasing people down!

4. Predicting peak hours

AI can predict busy periods and help staff prepare by suggesting pre-shift strategies, like prepping extra ingredients or assigning additional team members to key areas.

✨ Tech tip: Use automatic sales projections to fine-tune schedules, stock up wisely and make sure everything’s set to handle the rush without overstaffing or running short.

5. Kitchen efficiency

From everything from inventory and waste tracking to flagging expiration dates and customer allergies, AI can help kitchen staff in reducing errors, especially during peak hours.

✨ Tech tip: Use inventory and ordering management tools to scale back on food waste, automate product and price sheets and reduce the time spent on inventory checks.

Even though avoiding AI is about as likely as us declining the dessert menu, there are practical ways to leverage it without losing the authentic, personalized experiences and memories, or that argument over who gets the last piece of tiramisu that is intrinsic to hospitality. 

AI has incredible capabilities, albeit a few drawbacks, but when used with your staff (not instead of), the efficiency of AI and the nature of hospitality make a duo better than chicken and waffles. The key to not losing what makes your restaurant authentic is to use AI as a support, never a replacement, for the warmth and charm that makes hospitality so unique.