Restaurants Expand AI Investments

Fast-casual chains Starbucks, Wingstop and Chipotle are expanding AI investments to personalize customer experiences and improve forecasting and restaurant operations. The companies are proceeding despite difficulty measuring returns on the technology amid inflation and higher food prices during 2026.

Chipotle CEO Scott Boatwright said on the company’s third-quarter earnings call on October 28 that Chief Digital Officer Arlie Sisson, who joined in May, will lead AI architecture. A food forecasting pilot that recommends how much freshly prepared food to make and when has reached 500 restaurants, with national rollout planned for early next year. Boatwright said it reduced manual data entry, improved prep efficiency and cut food waste. Chipotle is developing Ava Cado, an in-restaurant assistant for managers, and rolling out its Chipotle Kitchen digital interface, with several hundred restaurants targeted by year-end. Comparable restaurant sales rose 2.1% year over year and revenue rose 9.6% year over year.

Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol said on its Q4 earnings call on October 29 that supply-chain technology is being introduced to improve demand forecasting, ordering accuracy and replenishment. Fiscal 2027 is planned as a “major tech modernization year,” including staffing, scheduling and point-of-sale systems. App updates will add tailored recommendations and AI search and discovery, with future support for agentic ordering. Next year, Starbucks plans to test background AI models for drive-thru orders. Niccol said roughly half of customers use drive-thrus. U.S. same-store sales rose 7.7% in Q4.

Wingstop CEO Michael Skipworth said on its Q3 earnings call on October 28 that the company activated an AI personalization engine for customer offers; initial tests found recipients generated higher total sales than other guests. Wingstop also launched an AI system to help employees analyze performance outliers. The tools join its Wingstop Smart Kitchen and Club Wingstop platforms. In August, Wingstop hired Jordan Yankovich from Boston Consulting Group as chief AI officer.

Fast-casual chains Starbucks, Wingstop and Chipotle are expanding AI investments to personalize customer experiences and improve forecasting and restaurant operations. The companies are proceeding despite difficulty measuring returns on the technology amid inflation and higher food prices during 2026.

Chipotle CEO Scott Boatwright said on the company’s third-quarter earnings call on October 28 that Chief Digital Officer Arlie Sisson, who joined in May, will lead AI architecture. A food forecasting pilot that recommends how much freshly prepared food to make and when has reached 500 restaurants, with national rollout planned for early next year. Boatwright said it reduced manual data entry, improved prep efficiency and cut food waste. Chipotle is developing Ava Cado, an in-restaurant assistant for managers, and rolling out its Chipotle Kitchen digital interface, with several hundred restaurants targeted by year-end. Comparable restaurant sales rose 2.1% year over year and revenue rose 9.6% year over year.

Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol said on its Q4 earnings call on October 29 that supply-chain technology is being introduced to improve demand forecasting, ordering accuracy and replenishment. Fiscal 2027 is planned as a “major tech modernization year,” including staffing, scheduling and point-of-sale systems. App updates will add tailored recommendations and AI search and discovery, with future support for agentic ordering. Next year, Starbucks plans to test background AI models for drive-thru orders. Niccol said roughly half of customers use drive-thrus. U.S. same-store sales rose 7.7% in Q4.

Wingstop CEO Michael Skipworth said on its Q3 earnings call on October 28 that the company activated an AI personalization engine for customer offers; initial tests found recipients generated higher total sales than other guests. Wingstop also launched an AI system to help employees analyze performance outliers. The tools join its Wingstop Smart Kitchen and Club Wingstop platforms. In August, Wingstop hired Jordan Yankovich from Boston Consulting Group as chief AI officer.