How AI Is Changing the Way We Pick Places to Eat (and What That Means for Your Restaurant)

You’re out. You’re hungry. You’re tired of arguing about where to go. So you do what everyone does: open your phone, ask Google or TikTok, and pray for divine algorithmic intervention.

Welcome to modern dining decisions—powered by AI.

From street food stalls to Michelin spots, artificial intelligence is quietly changing how we choose where to eat. And it’s not just about recommendation engines anymore—it’s baked into food trends, restaurant discovery, personalised nutrition, and operations.

Here’s how AI is transforming the way people find, choose and experience food, and what restaurants should be doing about it.

1. AI Is Already Influencing Where People Go

According to Deloitte, over half (52%) of customers think AI will soon handle most customer service interactions in hospitality, and nearly half (44%) expect it to help tailor experiences directly.

In practice? That might look like:

• Google recommending your spot because it understands someone's past dining behaviour.

• Booking platforms highlighting you based on real-time availability, cuisine, and vibe.

• Chatbots answering FAQs so you don’t have to keep checking DMs.

If your business is listed online, uses delivery platforms, or shows up in search, you're already part of the AI ecosystem even if you haven’t touched a chatbot or tool yet.

2. AI Can Help People Find You Faster

Forget SEO hacks and generic hashtags. AI search tools are starting to understand natural, nuanced language like:

• “Late-night noodles that aren’t greasy”

• “Vibey breakfast spot near Brixton”

• “Vegan roast that my grandad won’t complain about”

Platforms like Google’s Gemini or even AI-generated TikTok voiceovers are improving at matching people with food spots they’ll love. If your online content (menus, reviews, descriptions, social posts) isn’t helping that match happen, you’re missing out on low-effort visibility.

Tip: Make sure your Google listing is up to date. Use sensory, specific language in your descriptions (e.g. “homemade focaccia” or “slow-roasted pork shoulder”) so AI can actually connect you with what people are searching for.

3. AI Tools Can Help You Stay Ahead of Food Trends

Want to know what people are craving this week? Tools like Tastewise analyse billions of social posts, reviews and recipes to track what’s hot—like spicy honey, seaweed butter, or alcohol-free aperitifs—before the trend explodes.

This kind of insight used to cost agencies thousands. Now, even smaller restaurants can use simplified versions (or even just follow the tools’ trend reports) to:

• Plan specials that hit the moment

• Run smarter social content

• Understand how to tweak menus based on what’s buzzing

With 90% of new food products failing, AI trend data can help you avoid flops and focus on what people actually want to order.

4. Behind the Scenes, AI Is Helping Cut Costs and Save Time

You don’t need a robot chef. But AI is already helping independent food businesses with:

• Inventory tools

• Auto-ordering platforms

• Demand forecasting, helping you prep more accurately (and stop running out of your best-sellers)

With food costs rising and labour stretched thin, AI can help you do more with less. Even if you’re not using these tools yet, they’re becoming more affordable as the market saturates, and more necessary.

5. What AI Can’t (and Shouldn’t) Replace

AI is powerful, but it’s not a substitute for human hospitality.

The best brands will use tech to:

• Spot trends earlier

• Show up better in search & socials

• Free up time from admin

• Personalise without being weird

What you don’t need? A full nutritional breakdown on every dish or trying to sound like a robot online.

Final Bite

AI is changing the way people decide where to eat—and it’s not slowing down. But it’s not just a tool for corporate chains and delivery giants. Small restaurants can benefit too, without selling their soul to the algorithm.

Be findable. Be smart. Be ready to adapt. And keep serving food that people actually want to talk about.

IS YOUR POLISHED CONTENT KILLING YOUR ENGAGEMENT?

The best-performing content right now? It’s scrappy and shot on a phone.

Restaurants are still shelling out for glossy, cinematic content but it’s not landing like it used to. You could have the lighting of The Great British Bake Off tent and a drone shot of your sourdough… but the clip that’ll actually go viral? Sharon from front of house filming the gravy pour and muttering “bit of a naughty one” under her breath.

That’s not a fluke. That’s how people consume content now. Weird I know.

Your phone content feels true

We’re wired to pay attention to things that feel human. Phone-shot content isn’t just easier to make — it’s more believable. It looks like something your mate would send you. That’s what makes it work.

A slick, studio lit ad might look impressive, but it screams “sales pitch.” A quick vertical video of your chef plating pasta? Feels like an insider moment. People love that.

It’s the same reason brands are ditching mega influencers

Big names with perfect posts used to drive results. Now it’s all about micro creators who speak in their own voice and shoot on their phones.

Why? Because they come across as genuine. And in a sea of curated content, that’s rare. Your brand should follow the same logic, less gloss, more guts.

Our brains literally prefer chaos

Faces. Handheld movement. Snippets of conversation. These are all things our brains are primed to notice. It’s why a low-fi video of a team taste-testing garlic bread will stop the scroll faster than a perfectly-lit product shot.

So what should you do instead?

• Get your team involved Front-of-house, kitchen, whoever’s got personality.

• Make vertical, native content Pleeeeease, no more resizing horizontal brand videos.

• Use your phone daily Make catching snippets of content a habit. Consistency beats perfection.

• Keep your brand voice — but lose the stiffness Casual doesn’t mean careless.
  

People don’t want to watch your brand. They want to feel like they’re in on it.