QSR brands scale AI as tech investment accelerates

Operators are moving beyond customer-facing tools as forecasting, workforce management and governance shape the next phase of adoption.

Seven in 10 restaurant brands are scaling artificial intelligence as quick-service restaurant operators seek to improve forecasting, staffing, inventory management and customer engagement.

Emma Pitfield, partner at KPMG Finance Advisory, said the sector is well placed to benefit because its operations are highly process-driven. AI can combine weather, events, customer behaviour, stock availability and promotional performance to connect decisions previously handled separately.

“The real opportunity isn’t just a better forecast in isolation,” she said. “It’s really benefiting from bringing those insights to influence the staffing, the inventory, promotions, and customer engagement in a much more connected way.”

Small improvements can reduce waste, strengthen margins and create more consistent experiences across large restaurant networks. Workforce management is another key use case, particularly in Australia, where complex labour laws and round-the-clock operations increase the administrative burden on managers.

Pitfield said executives often focus on visible applications such as chatbots and drive-through ordering, even though some of the largest gains are occurring behind the scenes through labour scheduling, quality control, compliance and operational execution.

“The greatest value offered isn’t necessarily the AI, but it’s back to that ability to connect decisions across the business,” she said.

The adoption challenge has also changed. Operators are no longer debating whether to use AI, but where to deploy it first amid an expanding range of tools and use cases.

Costs associated with running AI models, together with the need to protect customer, sales and commercial data, are increasingly influencing investment decisions.

For the rest of 2026, Pitfield said operators should prioritise practical applications, strengthen responsible AI governance and connect decision-making across functions. Off-the-shelf tools could offer the fastest route for brands without the resources to build their own systems.