The AI Reset Smart Restaurants Are Making Right Now
After attending four trade shows in three weeks to kick off conference season, I have one big takeaway:
AI is here to help us, but unfortunately most operators are thinking about it wrong. And honestly, that’s not our fault.
AI is being sold to us like a magic button. Which, to be fair, we do want. Push this and your problems go away. And because our most prominent daily hurdles stem from operational challenges like labor and cost of goods, that’s where our heads go.
But AI isn’t in your kitchen perfectly seasoning every burger or making sure you’re efficiently using every single blueberry. So when we hear about it or test something out and it doesn’t just magically do that, it feels like we’re being sold yet another thing that overpromises and underdelivers.
To be fair, part of that is on us too, for not knowing how to get started using AI every day.
AI is a multiplier. It helps you process more data than you ever could on your own, spot patterns you would never see, and analyze what’s happening in your business without emotion or delay. It shows you where you’re wasting labor, where your menu is underperforming, where guests are dropping off, and where your marketing isn’t doing anything.
It doesn’t solve the problem for you. It shows you the problem clearly so you can actually fix it.
That shift in mindset is everything.
This is exactly why I wrote my AI for Restaurants Playbook.
To help restaurants get started, or restarted, in how they think about using AI. It gives you an opening framework on how to turn AI into a thought partner, along with a practical approach to generative search and a number of operational and marketing playbook ideas.
It’s designed to give you a clear “here’s how to approach AI” mindset, with actual ways to start using it.
I released this ebook about a month ago, and it’s already eclipsed every other ebook I’ve ever put out in terms of downloads.
I don’t say that to impress you, although I’ll admit, I’m a little flattered. I say it because it’s proof that it’s actually delivering what operators are looking for right now.
And no, it’s not a lead magnet. I’m not trying to sell you anything. You’re not going to get 12 follow-up calls trying to get you to buy my widget.
It’s a free asset meant to help all of us get better at what we do.
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PS. Want to know which AI tools Im loving right now? Send me an email therev@yeahmanagement.com !!
- Rev Ciancio
WHAT DOES REV DO?
I help restaurants to build guest marketing programs.
I help hospitality tech companies with lead generation and content marketing.
