AI Marketing in the Food Industry

Recently, Pizza Hut announced its plan to use artificial intelligence technology which would recommend different orders to customers based on the weather in their location. The food chain is going to be building its own in-house artificial intelligence technology, which will help them learn what the customers want.  

According to the Pizza Hut Digital Ventures Global Head of Analytics, a part of the company’s machine learning program would be to gather and analyze as much information about customer behavior as possible.

The tool would also gather information on who the customers are, their location, the potential weather in that location, as well as relevant product recommendations while they’re in that location. 

The digital ventures department of Pizza Hut was founded in 2016, but the company avoided purchasing an artificial intelligence tool in the last few years, preferring to build its own platform that would be specific to the company’s global business. The team at the digital ventures department is going to be focusing on digitizing the experience that consumers have with the company. 

Pizza Hut is just one of a number of companies in the food industry that have invested in artificial intelligence technology in the last few years for various reasons. For example, a couple of years ago McDonald’s invested in an artificial intelligence voice recognition technology which would speed up the orders at the chain’s drive-throughs. Additionally the parent company of Taco Bell, KFC, as well as Pizza Hut, Yum!, announced that it would be acquiring an artificial intelligence company to help study the consumers’ behavior better. 

These trends are showing that artificial intelligence is going to be changing the future of the food industry overall, as it has slowly started penetrating every aspect of it. A number of early adopters of AI are certainly set to become market leaders in the future because of their investments. There is plenty of potential in investing in these types of tools that can help companies in the food industry improve their bottom line. 

Food Processing 

One of the advantages of artificial intelligence in the food industry is automation in food processing, which these days is fully programmed to ensure all food is hygienic and high-quality. Plenty of facilities have already leveraged AI-powered robots which have similar dexterity to human hands. These robots are also faster when processing food compared to regular employees, which has increased the pace in those facilities, while also ensuring hygiene and safety for the food products. 

Decision Making 

As the aforementioned example with Pizza Hut shows, with the help of machine learning companies in the food industry can analyze the complex data of hundreds of thousands of consumers, and then deliver actionable insights at a moment’s notice. This is incredibly valuable information for a number of companies in the industry, which can be leveraged to improve marketing campaigns, purchasing decisions, productivity, product pricing, and more. 

Online Food Ordering Systems 

From the start of the pandemic, a number of companies in the food industry had to pivot to online orders and deliveries for their consumers. With the help of an online food order management system, consumers can make their orders and get them at their homes, while the company tracks demand, supply, and the delivery of those orders. Additionally, the company can also learn more about the consumers’ wants and needs at different times of day with the help of these systems.