FSTEC is Informa’s annual foodservice-technology-centric conference that brings together operators, tech vendors, and industry thought leaders together to discuss what’s trending and challenging in the restaurant tech industry today.

Every year, as technology plays a bigger and ubiquitous role in foodservice operations, the conference grows. During the 2024 FSTEC conference at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas, attendees discussed and debated a variety of topics, with AI and automation tech at the top of the list.

Here are five key takeaways that summarize the content themes at FSTEC 20204:

Be curious and not judgmental

FSTEC opening keynote speaker, futurist Mike Walsh, quoted the Apple TV show “Ted Lasso” by saying that operators should be “curious, not judgmental” about emerging tech trends, especially AI, stating that a “true tech disruption” is happening in the industry, and that even though AI tech is not yet perfected, operators should embrace the changes.

Walsh noted that over the next 10 years, the tech world will look completely different because AI will have matured by an incredible amount. For example, he predicted that we won’t even use apps on our phones anymore, but instead entirely rely on AI assistants. That could have a profound impact on consumer relationships with brands, which have been focused on perfecting loyalty through the mobile app experience.

The people who understand that AI is here to stay and will likely forever change operations and shrink organizations, will stay ahead of the game.

AI will not replace humans

One of the biggest questions around AI and automation technology is “will AI replace humans?” and the consensus during multiple FSTEC talks was that AI will likely replace some humans as superfluous roles are made obsolete, but it will never replace the crucial hospitality portion of the foodservice experience. Essentially, humans using AI will replace humans.

As Joe Park, chief technology and digital officer with Yum Brands, said during his fireside chat at FSTEC, the company’s strategy is to be “AI-first, but not AI everywhere.” He added that when introducing voice AI in the drive-thru lane at Taco Bell, customer satisfaction and speed went up because AI is always friendly, doesn’t get tired, and won’t give up on trying to upsell customers. As a result of this, Yum Brands staff tend to see voice AI as another team member and are able to focus on other hospitality-centric tasks.

More tech is becoming table stakes

Just a few years ago, many restaurant operators were hesitant to delve too much into technology investment, but now it’s a requirement for survival and “being just an operations’ person” does not cut it. Tech investments like loyalty, e-commerce, delivery, and online ordering used to be newer terrain but now they are considered table stakes, as multiple speakers at FSTEC suggested.

Now that most operators are past the “Technology 101” stage, the next key is perfecting the technology and making it work for your brand. As some operators shared, having that attitude meant completely starting from scratch within the tech stack.

Sherif Mityas, CEO of Brix Holdings, said during the “C-suite in the Hot Seat” session that COVID-19 accelerated the company’s tech adoption rate and that its goal was to make sure the company wasn’t investing in technology for technology’s sake:

“We are not looking for revolutionary—we are looking for things that move the ball forward,” Mityas said.

Customization is key

One of the hottest topics during FSTEC was whether to build or buy tech stack elements—a debate that was brought to the forefront during the opening “Build v. Buy” discussion at FSTEC and persisted throughout the conference.

But whether operators decide to partner with tech vendors in traditional ways or look into proprietary solutions, people on both sides of the debate agreed that personalized, customized solutions are the key to success. Gone are the days of the “set it and forget it” tech investments. Operators all have different tech needs that meet their unique goals and demographics.

For example, during one breakout session, one brand (Dave’s Hot Chicken) said that the company actively discourages people from placing phone orders and when you do call a Famous Dave’s, a recording of the company president, Jim Bitticks’ voice will play, encouraging guests to place orders online. The other two operators in the session though said that their customer bases skew older so they would never get rid of phones but might use voice AI to offset staffing challenges during peak times.

The importance of ‘easy’

While technology investment is never simple, it should not make operators and employees’ lives more difficult. For example, some critics of Voice AI expressed concern that Voice AI oftentimes will still not understand speech patterns or colloquialism —   a challenge that Voice AI tech companies are trying to address with every new iteration of the technology.

Right now, some of the most useful aspects of AI is actually not customer-facing and can be implemented in both front and back-of-house to make employees’ lives easier, including such simple tasks as automated inventory counting. Technology does not have to be complex to be useful.

Nation’s Restaurant News editor-in-chief Sam Oches contributed reporting to this story**

Contact Joanna at [email protected]