Restaurants skeptical of AI pitches

Restaurant operators who walked the floor at the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago this week said many artificial-intelligence products still had not cleared a basic hurdle: proving they save or make money. Restaurant Business, in a May 20 post-show column, said exhibitors pitched AI tools for phone ordering, drive-thrus, inventory, marketing and staffing, but many operators remained unconvinced about their day-to-day value. The mood, as described by operators and vendors interviewed there, was less about novelty than about measurable return on investment. That skepticism comes as the National Restaurant Association projects 2026 U.S. restaurant sales of $1.55 trillion and says operators are still under pressure from uneven traffic and rising costs. ### Which AI tools drew the most attention on the show floor? The National Restaurant Association Show ran in Chicago from May 16 to May 19, according to the show’s insider guide, and its technology pitches were hard to miss. Restaurant Business said operators encountered AI phone systems, AI drive-thrus, AI cashiers, AI inventory-management systems and AI marketing bots while walking the aisles. (restaurantbusinessonline.com) Joe Guszkowski of Restaurant Business wrote that there was “no shortage of AI” at the show. He also reported that some products on display could point to revenue gains or cost savings, including tools designed to identify profit-boosting tactics, generate targeted marketing campaigns and update restaurant websites to improve search visibility. ### Why were operators pushing back on the AI sales pitch? (restaurantbusinessonline.com) Khara Mangiduyos, owner of Kalei’s Kitchenette in San Diego, told Restaurant Business that hype had outrun usefulness in some pitches she heard at the show. “I want to ensure that that's equivalent to dollars,” she said, after describing her frustration with claims centered on time savings rather than financial results. (restaurantbusinessonline.com) Mangiduyos also said some vendors appeared to be using AI as a marketing label whether or not it changed the underlying service. “They're trying to market themselves as relevant,” she said. “So now it's like, how can you even trust those companies? It's so much hype.” ### What did vendors and restaurant tech executives say about the backlash? Bryan Solar, chief product officer at POS provider SpotOn, told Restaurant Business that restaurants would have to “survive their version of AI slop” because it is now easier than ever for companies to offer AI-branded products. (restaurantbusinessonline.com) His comment captured a concern that the market is filling up faster than operators can evaluate what is practical. PreciTaste, which Restaurant Business described as offering an AI-based kitchen-management system, took a different approach. Kenneth Hallwachs, the company’s head of customer, said PreciTaste made little mention of AI in its booth materials because “everybody's saying, ‘AI, AI, AI,’” and the company wanted to emphasize whether the product actually worked. ### Are restaurants rejecting AI outright? (restaurantbusinessonline.com) Amir Harpaz, owner of The Mudpuppy in Vonore, Tennessee, told Restaurant Business he had trained ChatGPT to handle the restaurant’s social-media accounts. The posts are AI-generated, using real staff photos, and the bot also responds to comments, according to the report. The National Restaurant Association said in its 2026 State of the Industry report, released Feb. 11, that operators are looking to invest in technology that boosts efficiency and strengthens guest connections. (restaurantbusinessonline.com) The same report said operators face persistent cost pressures, including uneven traffic and rising costs, conditions that help explain why technology purchases are being judged on immediate operational payoff. ### What happens after the show-floor skepticism? The National Restaurant Association’s 2026 report says operators expect industry sales to reach $1.55 trillion and employment to rise to 15.8 million this year. Those forecasts, along with the report’s emphasis on digital ordering, automation and data analytics, set the next test for restaurant tech vendors: whether products pitched in Chicago can show up in operating results over the rest of 2026. (restaurant.org)