Who would have thought cloud technology would show up in your local fast-food chain?
But it’s happening. From voice assistants in drive-thrus to digital menus that change based on your order history, restaurants are quietly starting to use the same tools that power apps, e-commerce, and large enterprise systems, and much of it is coming via Google Cloud.
The food service industry is also looking for ways to grow and serve more people more efficiently, and many restaurants are using AI to help. It isn’t to replace employees, but to take care of repetitive tasks so staff can focus on cooking, serving, and supporting the customer experience.
Companies like Wendy’s and IHOP are testing and launching AI tools that speed up ordering, personalize menus, and more. And these tools aren’t just experiments — they’re already being tested in real restaurants and showing results.
Here are a few examples of how it’s working and what it might mean for restaurants in the future.
The drive-thru has been part of fast food for decades. Normally, you’d speak to a staff member through an intercom, place your order, and pick it up on the other side as you drive through.
Nowadays, some of the biggest restaurant chains are starting to change what we’re used to with the help of AI. Instead of using only human staff at the speaker, they’re testing voice assistants that can take orders directly from customers.
Wendy’s, in partnership with Google Cloud, launched FreshAi — a generative AI voice assistant that now takes drive-thru orders at more than 100 locations across the United States.
It started as a pilot in just two states in early 2024 and has since expanded. It now handles tens of thousands of orders each day and receives positive feedback from both customers and staff.
On top of faster service and better order accuracy, Wendy’s also gets real-time data on how people order, which means they can adjust things based on what customers actually do, not just what they expect.
It doesn’t stop at the drive-thru. Restaurants are also using AI to improve online ordering.
The trend is personalization: Show each customer what they like, learn from their habits, and make helpful suggestions that speed up ordering — and yes, sometimes also increase the bill.
With AI, online ordering works more like a movie streaming service — your customers get recommendations, but trained not on what they’ve watched, but on what they’ve eaten.
IHOP, through its parent company Dine Brands, is working with Google Cloud to bring AI into the way customers order food online. It’s using Google’s Recommendations AI to suggest items based on what people have ordered before.
It’s kind of like a “You might also like” for food, and by making the menu feel more personal, customers are more likely to find what they want quickly, try a new item, or add an extra.
This is part of a bigger plan at Dine Brands to bring more AI tools into their restaurants — not just to make ordering easier, but to run things more smoothly behind the scenes too.
AI isn’t just being incorporated into one part of the restaurant experience — it’s starting to show up across the entire industry.
Many restaurants are now trying out different AI tools to improve how they run day-to-day operations, from how they manage tables to how they design menus.
At Dine Brands, one experiment involves AI-powered cameras to help with table management. They help track when customers are seated, how long they’ve been there, and when a table is free — in real time. That way, staff can seat people faster and keep things moving more efficiently, especially during busy hours.
AI is also starting to play a role in menu design. By looking at things like past sales, customer reviews, and how much ingredients cost, some restaurants are using AI tools to figure out which items are working and which ones aren’t.
Some places have even reported up to 30% revenue increases after reworking their menus using these kinds of tools.
And all of this is already making a real difference. Across the restaurant industry, these AI tools are helping improve how things run and how customers experience them.
Orders come out quicker, menus feel a bit more personalized, and overall, the whole experience just works better. For the restaurants using these tools, that often shows up in happier customers and stronger sales.
At Revolgy, we work with companies around the world to help them adopt cloud and AI tools like these, no matter if they’re starting with small experiments or scaling something that already works.
If you’re exploring how to bring smart, practical technology into your business, we’re here to help, just reach out.