Spotlight Interview: Stephen Klein, CEO and Co-Founder of Saivory
Saivory, founded by former Bain consultant Stephen Klein, offers AI‑powered tools that help restaurant chains reclaim first‑party digital sales. Its platform combines dynamic local landing pages with AI‑guided ordering flows to improve search visibility, reduce cart abandonment, and increase average order value, especially for large catering orders. Early deployments show roughly a 25% lift in AOV and higher conversion rates versus third‑party platforms. The company is expanding into marketing automation and franchisee spend optimization.
Google Introduces AI-Powered Restaurant Booking as Search Evolves Into Action
Google has launched an AI‑driven restaurant reservation feature in the UK, embedding end‑to‑end booking capabilities into its AI Mode search interface. Users can ask the AI to locate suitable venues, check availability and confirm a table without leaving the search...
Shake Shack Unveils Restaurant Technology Initiative Focused on AI, Loyalty and Unified Commerce
Shake Shack announced Project Catalyst, a comprehensive technology initiative aimed at modernizing its digital, data and operational infrastructure as it pursues growth to 1,500 company‑owned restaurants. The program partners with cloud‑native platform Qu to upgrade POS and kitchen display systems,...
DoorDash Shuts Down Zesty and Brings Restaurant AI Discovery Into Core App
DoorDash is retiring its AI‑driven restaurant discovery app Zesty, moving its personalized recommendation and conversational search tools into the main DoorDash app. Launched in December 2025 in New York and the Bay Area, Zesty will go offline on April 17...
Why Some Bar Operators Are Voicing Concerns About QR Code Ordering
Wetherspoons founder Sir Tim Martin warned that QR code ordering is "robbing punters of banter at the bar," a critique amplified by the chain’s size—about 815 pubs and 42,000 employees across the UK. While QR‑based menus speed service, improve order...
Burger King’s 60,000-Worker Hiring Push Reflects the Reality of Running a Tech-Enabled Restaurant at Scale
Burger King announced a hiring drive for up to 60,000 employees across its roughly 6,500 U.S. restaurants. The push follows a multi‑year modernization effort that introduced redesigned layouts, a unified technology stack, and AI‑enabled headsets for staff. Digital ordering channels...
Deliverect Launches AI Agents and Smart Assistants to Boost Restaurant Sales and Protect Digital Revenue
Deliverect has introduced Deliverect AI, a suite of autonomous agents and smart assistants that continuously rewrite digital menus, resolve technical issues, and launch themed promotions in minutes. The technology is live for UK clients and will roll out to Australia,...
The Race for Restaurant Industry Leads Is Shifting Earlier in the Buying Cycle
Restaurant technology vendors are finding that most purchasing decisions are locked in before a new location opens, shifting the valuable lead window months earlier in the build‑out phase. Traditional inbound tactics targeting newly opened sites no longer capture the most...
Quail Digital and Audivi Join Forces to Bring Cost-Free Voice AI to Drive-Thru Restaurant Ordering
Quail Digital and Audivi have announced a global partnership delivering a free Voice AI hardware box for quick‑service restaurants. The solution merges Quail’s high‑clarity audio equipment with Audivi’s real‑time AI ordering software, aiming to cut drive‑thru errors and speed service....
AtomBite.AI Unveils Flexible Manipulation Robotics Designed to Solve the “Grasping Problem” In Commercial Kitchens
AtomBite.AI launched its first commercial robot, the M1 Takeout Packing Robot, to automate the chaotic "last meter" of food‑delivery fulfillment in restaurants. The system runs on a proprietary dual‑model AI brain that lets existing hardware manipulate unpredictable items like crushed...
Bilt Doubles Down on Dining With New Orchestration Platform Aimed at Unifying the Guest Experience
Bilt is expanding from its housing‑focused rewards program into restaurant technology with the launch of Bilt Hospitality for Restaurants. The new orchestration platform sits atop existing POS, reservation, CRM and communication systems, unifying guest data from reservation through payment. By...
Shipping Containers Become Smart Infrastructure for Restaurant Design
PETTI Restaurant in Tuticorin repurposes twelve decommissioned shipping containers into a high‑performance dining space, wrapping them in poured‑earth insulation that acts as a natural thermal regulator. The passive envelope, combined with limited façade openings, cross‑ventilation and skylights, cuts air‑conditioning demand...
How Better Data Is Improving Restaurant Lead Conversion for Technology Solution Providers and Other Restaurant Vendors
Timing is the decisive factor in restaurant‑technology sales, with most vendor decisions made months before a restaurant opens. Preopening Restaurants Resource offers an intelligence platform that uncovers restaurants in development, under construction, or early planning stages, allowing vendors to engage...
Papa Johns Selects Deliverect to Modernize U.S. Delivery Operations with AI-Powered Unified Ordering Platform
Papa Johns announced a strategic partnership with Deliverect to roll out its Smart Dispatch & Delivery Management platform across all U.S. restaurants by the end of 2027. The AI‑driven system unifies first‑party and third‑party delivery channels into a single orchestration...
How the Pizza Industry Became the Epicenter of Restaurant Technology Innovation
The pizza sector has become the leading proving ground for restaurant technology, with AI, robotics, and predictive analytics reshaping ordering, kitchen, and delivery processes. Brands such as Jet’s Pizza, Donatos, Domino’s and Papa John’s have deployed AI‑driven SMS ordering, autonomous...
