- 98% of U.S. restaurants have invested in software or tech in the last year.
- But only 21% of U.S. restaurants are currently implementing automation technology.
- 38% of U.S. restaurants are not currently exploring AI adoption.
According to Expert Market’s 2025 Food and Beverage Report, sponsored by hospitality platform Toast, workers in America’s hospitality industry are less likely to be replaced by AI, as just 21% of U.S. restaurants are currently implementing automation technology.
AI unlikely to solve hospitality labor crisis
Expert Market’s report highlights a major labor crisis within America’s restaurants – as 38% of U.S. restaurants say staff recruitment, retention & training is their biggest problem.
85% of U.S. restaurants even say that labor challenges are affecting their business operations.
Despite the strain of staffing issues, restaurants don’t seem to be turning to AI to ease the impact of this labor crisis, as only 21% of restaurants are currently implementing automation technology.
Are U.S. restaurants rejecting the AI boom?
A staggering 98% of U.S. restaurants have invested in software or tech over the last year, indicating a clear eagerness to adopt technology within the U.S F&B industry.
However, 38% of U.S. restaurant businesses are not exploring AI adoption, highlighting a potential rejection of artificial intelligence within this sector.
Top five technology restaurants are currently adopting:
(by percentage of businesses who said they adopted this in the past year)
- POS system: 76%
- Surveillance & security system: 59%
- Employee scheduling software: 56%
- Payment terminal: 56%
- Online ordering platform: 52%
Editor of Expert Market, Chris Maillard, says:
“There has been a lot of hype around Artificial Intelligence, with tech firms trying to shoehorn it into every possible application and industry.
Perhaps predictably, the food and beverage industry has been one of the least enthusiastic to take up this technology – after all, a busy chef is unlikely to need a virtual assistant, no matter how clever, unless it can wash dishes or chop vegetables.
But there are undoubtedly areas, such as guest bookings, stock control or schedule management, which may well benefit from AI’s ability to make sense of large amounts of data.
More immediate needs are being prioritized right now, however, as the economic squeeze hits prices and profits. Once the industry is out of survival mode and looking to the future this may well be a worthwhile area for investment, but not just yet.”
