Major players like Just Eat and Waitrose are leveraging cutting-edge technologies like Conversational AI and Generative AI to reshape the future of food services. The technology is becoming more prevalent across the industry. For fast food chains, AI is helping them to automate customer service and reduce the reliance on human labour. But with the tech continuously changing, what’s next? Gopi Polavarapu, Chief Solutions Officer at Kore.ai, discusses how AI is affecting the fast food industry.
The food and restaurant sector is busy cooking up innovative ways to use technology to create new touchpoints and improve customer service. The US-based National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Technology Landscape Report 2024 is a great example of the impact technology is making on how people interact with their favourite food brands.
It found that more than three in four food operators say innovation gives them a competitive edge, with six in ten looking to technology to enhance the consumer experience. Crucially, it found that 16% of operators are planning to invest in Artificial Intelligence (AI) in 2024.
“The data clearly shows that restaurant operators and owners are rapidly embracing technology and integrating it into their daily operations,” said Hudson Riehle, Senior Vice President of Research and Knowledge for the National Restaurant Association.
“Understanding which technologies customers in each segment would like to have, really want and consider essential provides operators with substantial opportunities to enhance the customer experience, amplify marketing and operate more efficiently.”
This makes several good points – and pinpoints the challenges the industry faces. As major fast food chains are investing in Conversational AI (CAI) and Generative AI (GAI) to help automate customer service and reduce the reliance on human servers, they need to ensure they are offering tech in the right places and on the right channels.
Automating order taking
The most obvious case for this can be seen in voice-controlled ordering systems typically used in drive-thrus. For this to work, it requires food outlets to fine-tune Large Language Models (LLMs) which are customised and trained on the restaurant’s menu and operations. To make the whole experience seamless, these LLMs also need to be integrated with existing systems such as Point of Sale (POS).
The real challenge, of course, is the customer experience. Not only does the food order need to be processed in double-quick time, it also needs to be accurate. This means CAI systems need to be able to handle sometimes complex human interactions involving different accents and dialects and make allowances for last-minute order changes and dietary requests.
There’s another issue that also needs to be resolved. Upselling – do you want fries with that? – is a major part of the customer interaction. Unfortunately, there have been instances where the push for sales has, albeit unintentionally, left customers frustrated.
In an industry where the customer experience is so important, getting issues like this right can make a huge difference. The whole purpose of a drive-thru, for example, is to order and move on with the least possible fuss. When AI drive-thru automated assistants get their orders wrong, or attempt to upsell too frequently, customers are likely to leave dissatisfied.
AI should be conversational, not scripted
This is problematic for legacy chatbot systems which tend to follow a hard-coded script. While this may work in theory, such a rigid approach may be incapable of handling complex customer orders and delivering accurate responses in real-time.
In other words, if AI can’t handle an interruption, answer a question or change an order on a dime, it’s not so intelligent. And if it can’t do it quickly, then it defeats the purpose of ‘fast food’.
That’s why Machine Learning (ML) plays such a crucial role, using special algorithms, features, and datasets that continually learn and adapt through experience. And as they receive more input data, CAI and GAI systems improve their pattern recognition abilities, utilising this knowledge to make predictions and deliver more accurate outcomes in quick timeframes.
Endless AI possibilities
And when it comes to fast food restaurants, there are so many more capabilities:
• Customer feedback: including assisting with misplaced deliveries, addressing missing items, arranging refunds and managing feedback on good quality
• Real-time updates: conversational bots can provide real-time assistance and updates for delivery-related questions or concerns, contributing to customer satisfaction and service efficiency
• Going mobile: taking this even further, CAI can also be incorporated into mobile apps to improve the customer experience and streamline ordering – featuring digital intelligent virtual agents (IVAs) that engage in natural language conversations with customers. In case of complex requests or issues, customers can also be transferred to a live agent – combining AI and human support.
• Extra hands: while restaurants continue to struggle with high employee turnover and shortage of skilled labour, IVAs can also support with effective onboarding, training and upskilling
The proof of the pudding? Get your CAI right
When done right, CAI and GAI have an important role to play in the food industry. Not only has the technology improved substantially in recent years, people are increasingly warming to the use of automated assistants.
In the past, speaking to a real person to make an order available was deemed to be the ‘gold standard’ for good service. But things are changing.
According to our latest annual CX Benchmark Report, consumers now prioritise accuracy (92%), effectiveness (92%) and friendliness (91%), regardless of how they receive it.
Moreover, our research underscores the growing and widespread acceptance of intelligent automated agents across different industries and demographics.
For those in the food sector, the results of this customer survey for UK consumers are telling. Almost nine in ten (87%) agree it is essential that automated assistants of any kind must be able to function across different languages.
More than three-quarters (78%) say having to re-state their situation or problem more than once during any type of customer service interaction is their ‘biggest customer frustration’. While 83% say that automated assistant technology should always have an option to transfer to a live person.
From self-service kiosks to automated drive-thrus and customer service support, GenAI offers huge potential for the food industry. Success, however, hinges on the industry’s ability to engage in genuinely conversational interactions, offer tailored services and implement personalised and effective upselling strategies.
In the world of fast food, it pays to be quick when it comes to innovation for long-term gains and increased brand loyalty.
So, would you like a side of AI with that?
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