AI, software and data that make operations smarter.
Software and AI are moving into every part of foodservice, from forecasting and ordering to menu planning, inventory, scheduling and point of sale. The promise is less waste, fewer hours on paperwork and better decisions. The risk is paying for tools that do not connect to your systems or that your team will not use.
This section tracks AI and technology that directors can actually put to work: demand forecasting, production planning, procurement and sourcing tools, mobile and kiosk ordering, POS and payment, nutrition and allergen software, and data that ties food cost to participation. We highlight how operators are using these tools today, what results they report, and practical questions to ask vendors about integration, data ownership, training and cost. The goal is simple: help you separate useful tools from hype, and adopt technology at a pace your operation can handle.
A McKnight's Senior Living column looks at where AI could reshape senior living dining operations, from forecasting and purchasing to personalizing resident menus.
At SHFM's National Conference in Chicago (Oct. 6-8), presenters built a pop-up concept with AI in about 20 minutes and shared how they prompt AI tools. One speaker's four-question test for picking a tool: what it must do, whether it can adapt, whether it protects your data, and whether you can check its output.
Toast's new AI team includes a Scheduling Agent that builds schedules from availability, forecast sales and overtime risk. Toast says beta users averaged 41% fewer overtime hours per employee; pricing starts at $60 a month plus $9 per employee per month.
A restaurant purchasing co-op built 20 AI agents that continuously monitor pricing, commodities, food safety incidents, distributor fill rates and freight. One flags any price change above 5%, and its findings are checked against the co-op's existing data platforms.
Common Route released five AI agents that help operators find products and manufacturers, develop recipes from their own menus and pantry, and write innovation briefs for suppliers. The company says data users share is not used to train AI models.
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