6 Tasks Restaurant Teams Can Automate with AI

AI is kind of having a moment right now. 

It’s basically impossible to scroll through a newsfeed without stumbling across an article (or 10…) about the rapid developments we’re seeing in AI technology — and all of its benefits, risks, and mind-blowing potential to change life as we know it.

While AI is getting quite a bit of PR here in 2023, many industries have been embracing AI for years, including hospitality. From automated customer insights to voice assistants, AI is becoming increasingly entrenched in restaurant operations. 

What even is AI?

AI (short for artificial intelligence) is an exciting new technology that’s changing nearly every industry — including the service and hospitality industries. AI is intended to take in information and respond in a way that mimics human responses. This means it can respond to queries with valuable information. If you use Alexa at home, you’re interacting with AI every day.

Machine learning is what makes AI really valuable, especially in restaurants. Machine learning takes in information from a data source (for example, your POS) and analyzes it. Once the tech “learns” from historical data, it can predict trends and behaviors in the future. For example, TikTok uses machine learning to determine which videos you’re more likely to engage with and shows you new content based on those predictions in hopes of keeping you on the app for longer.

Why use AI in your restaurant? 

Running and managing a restaurant is stressful. Operators and managers wear a lot of hats, and it can be hard to streamline operations when you’re pulled in so many different directions. Restaurants can use AI to make life just a little bit easier — and cut costs while you’re at it.

Does that mean the service industry should start preparing for the inevitable robot takeover? Not just yet. The human element is still vital to many segments. But there’s never been a better time for restaurant operators to innovate: new AI advances can streamline and simplify everyday restaurant management processes, helping operators to uncover new efficiencies, increase staff and customer satisfaction, and ultimately boost your bottom line.

Here are a few ways AI can lighten your workload and optimize your restaurant operations.

1. Menu Development 

Your chef and kitchen staff have been hard at work putting together delicious dishes that will turn your new customers into regulars, but how are you supposed to put all the flavors and components into a short, enticing description? With AI, you can skip the writer’s block and simply generate well-worded descriptions in seconds. 

2. Hiring

Restaurants are still experiencing staffing shortages and struggling to fill positions — but what if AI could streamline your hiring efforts? There are a few ways to relieve the burden that staff issues have put on restaurant management. 

  • Writing job descriptions: Remember how we said it was tedious to write menu descriptions? Same goes for job descriptions. Of course, you want to provide all the details about the role, but sometimes it can be hard to creatively describe a serving job and show off your restaurant’s culture. Instead, turn to AI for quick job descriptions that only need to be slightly edited to show off more personality. 
  • Reviewing applications: Once you’ve posted your job online, you have a few different ways to leverage AI in the hiring process. For one, you can use AI to filter out candidates that don’t meet your requirements about experience, age, or availability. Then, you have fewer applications to wade through and can focus on serious candidates only. 
  • Chatbot: To really lean into the AI trend, you can also use an AI chatbot that has a text conversation with applicants to learn about their skills, job experience, pay expectations, and availability. Choose a chatbot that can integrate with your existing technology, so you don’t have to create your own software (unless you want to). Rather than filling out the traditional application form, your candidates will share about themselves in a more casual, conversational manner, almost like a pre-interview. These chatbots can still filter out candidates who aren’t going to be a good fit — and it might impress your more tech-savvy candidate pool.  

Of course, you can also tackle staffing issues by automating some of your positions. QSRs can especially take advantage of AI voice assistants to man drive-thrus and take orders, while your human staff focuses on fulfilling them.

3. Scheduling

You’re not limited to AI writing tools. New technology can automate and optimize almost every aspect of your business, from front of house to back. 

Now that AI’s streamlined your hiring practices, give it a chance to improve your schedule, too. Restaurant budgets can be tight, so you don’t want to have too many employees during a slow weekday lunch — but you also don’t want to be understaffed during a huge rush. Machine learning can analyze your sales data to determine peak times and the optimal amount of staff to schedule for a shift. You can put in parameters that will keep the schedule within budget, and then use the AI-generated roadmap to create your weekly schedule.

4. Forecasting

AI can do even more with your POS data to optimize your entire restaurant and predict trends, empowering you to make data-backed business decisions. 

For example: inventory management. No one wants to over-order and let food spoil, nor do you want to 86 a popular dish because you ran out of one ingredient. With AI, you can utilize POS data to determine your best-sellers, which items you frequently run out of, and where you could be over-purchasing. With your inventory optimized, you’ll prevent food waste and serve your customers their first-choice dish.

>> Find out more about Revenue Forecasting for restaurants

5. Marketing & Customer Insights

Once you get people in the door, you want to keep your loyal customers coming back. Many small restaurants don’t have the luxury of a full-time employee to run their marketing efforts. Good news: You can employ AI instead. 

Auto-generate marketing emails to let your customers know about specials, events, and coupons. If you have a loyalty program, you can even take it a step further. AI can figure out each customer’s most frequent orders and when they’re most likely to come in, and offer individualized deals based on their ordering habits. Your customers will feel like you really know them, and you can relieve pressure off the FOH manager who does marketing on the side. 

6. Customer Engagement 

While you don’t want to lose the human touch that really makes your customer experience, there are a few tasks you can pass off to AI that will free up managers’ and employees’ time for more pressing tasks (especially when they’re in the weeds on a busy Friday night). 

If your phone is ringing off the hook with people asking about wait times, making a reservation, or wondering if you have outdoor seating, AI can help field calls and answer their questions. You can program the AI to pick up on certain terms (like “reservation”) to generate the answer your guests are looking for. If you can integrate AI with your waitlist and reservation software, the AI can add callers to your waitlist, estimate wait times, and create reservations. 

Adding an AI chatbot to your website can also quickly engage customers, allowing them to get answers to specific questions that they’d normally call in to ask. 

Of course, there are limitations to tech, especially in the communication and hospitality departments. When choosing to add any new technology to your restaurant operations, make sure that it gives you more tools to engage with customers — and doesn’t create a cold, mechanical dining experience. It’s there to make your life easier, but AI can’t replace good service and personal connections with your customers.

Looking to simplify your tip out process? Kickfin can help. Check out a demo of our instant digital tipping software.

How to Comply with Tip Pooling Laws

Thinking about implementing a mandatory tip pool?

In more collaborative work environments, tip pooling might seem like a logical, equitable way to handle employee tips. It can encourage teamwork, build a spirit of camaraderie, and ensure that all of your employees are fairly compensated for their hard work.

But depending on where you’re located, tip pooling laws can get very complicated, very fast. A quick Google search will show you how many restaurants have found themselves at the center of costly lawsuits because they were (often unintentionally) operating illegal tip pools.

So: before you pass go, get up to date on the latest tip pooling laws and regulations to avoid hefty fines and a bad reputation. 

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

Starting in 2020, the federal Department of Labor made significant rulings based on the tip regulations stipulated under the 2018 Fair Labor Standards Act. These new rulings are designed to better protect tipped employees from wage theft and other illegal tipping practices. They’ve released their final rule, which went into effect on April 30, 2021.

One important thing to note: while the DOL uses the umbrella term “tip pooling,” these rules apply to all tip-sharing practices, including tipping out. Even if you’re not explicitly pooling and redistributing tips, any tip sharing at all is subject to these laws.

Who can keep tips? 

Employers are completely barred from keeping any tips, pooled or otherwise. According to the FLSA, tips explicitly belong to the employees, not their employer, so any tips withheld by the employer can be seen as wage theft. 

As an extension of the employer, managers and supervisors may not participate in a tip pool or retain any employee tips. Managers can, however, keep tips that are directly given to them based on service they directly and solely provided. 

Some of the tip pooling laws depend on if your restaurant is taking the federal tip credit of up to $5.12:

  • If you do take the tip credit, non-tipped employees (like cooks, dishwashers, and other back-of-house employees) cannot participate in the tip pool. 
  • However, if you do not take the tip credit and pay traditionally tipped employees the full minimum wage, the tip pool can be shared with your back-of-house staff and other non-tipped employees. 

Maintaining Payroll Records & Timeliness

For the most part, the Department of Labor rewards employers who don’t take the tip credit and pay their tipped employees the full minimum wage by offering more flexibility around tip pooling. 

Still, even non-tip credit establishments have some extra rules to follow. Employers who require employees to pool their tips must maintain thorough records of payroll, tip redistribution, and the weekly/monthly tip amounts for each employee.

Speaking of payroll, all pooled tips must be redistributed to employees by the end of the pay period in which they were earned. The timeliness of returning tips to employees applies to all establishments, whether you take the tip credit or not. 

State and Local Tip Pool Laws 

Don’t forget that tipping laws vary state by state — and some states explicitly bar tip pooling. If you live in Kentucky, Wyoming, Minnesota, or Montana, you cannot require employees to participate in the tip pool, but employees may voluntarily pool tips if they so choose. 

Additionally, many states have higher minimum wage requirements than those laid out by the federal government, so you may need to double-check that your tip pool doesn’t cause any employees to fall below their required pay. 

As of now, 14 states have additional state laws that extend beyond the FLSA rulings, so make sure to read up on your state’s tipping regulations before implementing a tip pooling system.

Here are the states where tipping & tip pool laws vary: 

California

Tip pools are legal, but they cannot be shared with BOH employees or any manager who has the power to fire employees. 

Employers are also required to pay servers the full minimum wage of $15.50/hr — meaning California business owners cannot take the tip credit.  

Colorado

Tip pools are legal, but Colorado does have more rules about the tip credit. If you deduct credit card processing fees from your servers’ tips, you cannot take the tip credit and must pay the full minimum wage of $13.65.

Delaware 

Mandatory tip pools are legal, but servers cannot be required to contribute more than 15% of their tips. If servers create their own voluntary tip pool, they can choose to contribute as much as they would like. 

Kentucky 

Mandatory tip pools are illegal, but employees may voluntarily form their own tip pool. 

Maine

Any mandatory service charges must be treated as a tip for employees, so therefore, service charges can be included in the tip pool. 

Massachusetts

Mandatory service charges are viewed as tips that can be included in the tip pool, but only employees who provide direct service can take part in the tip pool. 

Minnesota

Mandatory tip pools are illegal, but employees may form their own tip pools. The employees may also vote to allow their employer to manage and disperse from the tip pool. Mandatory service charges are also viewed as tips unless it’s explicitly stated to the customer that they are not being paid to the employee. 

Montana

It is illegal for employers to mandate a tip pool, but voluntary tip pools are allowed. Mandatory service charges can only be treated as tips for the server. 

New Hampshire

Mandatory tip pools are banned, but employees may elect their employer to manage and disperse voluntarily pooled tips. 

New York 

Mandatory tip pools are legal, but employers are banned from participating. Employees providing direct service and supervisors with limited authority are the only employees allowed to participate in the tip pool. All mandatory service charges must be paid to the employee who provided the service. 

North Dakota 

To establish a tip pool, employers must hold a vote for the tipped employees to make the final decision. At least 50% plus one of the tipped employees must vote in favor of the tip pool, and the employer must keep record of the vote. 

North Carolina 

Tip pooling is legal but only among regularly-tipped employees. Employees may only contribute up to 15% of their tips to the pool. 

Utah

Tip pools are legal, but the tip pooling policy needs to be provided in writing before establishing a tip pool or hiring any new staff. 

Wyoming

Only voluntary tip pools are legal in Wyoming, and employers are banned from pressuring or coercing their employees to form a tip pool.

What’s at stake? 

If you don’t comply with federal tip pooling laws – even without your knowledge – you could be liable for massive fines and employee back pay. In 2020, the Department of Labor also released its final rule on Civil Money Penalties (CMPs) to determine the punishments that come with violating the FLSA tip regulations. 

The final rule clarified that the Department of Labor can assess penalties of up to $1,162 per violation, even if the violations aren’t repeated or willful. This fine is in addition to back pay and damages that employees can sue for. 

On top of the financial risks, you don’t want to ruin your reputation. No one wants to work for a company known for shady tipping practices, and customers generally don’t want to support unfair labor practices either. It’s in your best interest to take tipping laws seriously. 

Rulings and regulations can get confusing without expert help. It’s always safest to speak to an attorney to ensure that you’re complying with federal, state, and local tipping laws to keep your business out of hot water. 

Additional Resources

Once you’re confident that you’re complying with tipping laws, consider making tip pools and tipping out even easier. Request a demo of Kickfin to see how digital, instant tip-outs simplify tipping, save time, and help you retain employees.