Artificial intelligence and GPT chat are highlights of FoodCo. Experience

In the 2nd edition of FoodCo. Experience, held on Wednesday (7) in the kitchen of Bom Gourmet, entrepreneurs and restaurateurs from the food sector gathered at the event to discuss the trends and news of the NRA Show 2023 (National Restaurant Association), the largest food fair service in the world, which took place in Chicago, in the United States, between May 20th and 23rd. Artificial intelligence, GPT chat and robotization were the most prominent topics.

Promoted by FoodCo., a foodtech that offers content, mentoring and solutions in the food service market for entrepreneurs in the field, FoodCo. Experience took place for the second time, in 2023, with the aim of boosting the application of food service innovations in the international market to the reality of Brazilian entrepreneurs.

In the programming, the event had the presence of panelists: Patrícia Albanez, Sebrae/PR consultant; Sérgio Molinari, founder of Food Consulting; Ivan Achcar, director of EGG Educa – School of Gastronomy Business Management; Divaldo Maciel, founding partner of Limoeiro Casa de Comidas; Ailin Aleixo, gastronomic journalist and partner at Akuanduba Consultoria; Natália Estrela, Head of Marketing for Food Service Latam at Cargill and Rodrigo Andrade Oliveira, Head of Hunting at Rappi.

All specialists were present at the NRA Show 2023 and shared content, impressions and food service trends in force in other countries around the world, bringing reflections and exchanges of experiences with the entrepreneurs present at the occasion.

AI & Robotization are here to stay

AI (artificial intelligence) was a common theme among all panelists, who highlighted the applicability of this technology – from management to operations – as a fundamental strategy to leverage business in the sector.

Panelist Patrícia Albanez, consultant for Sebrae/PR, highlighted the importance of AI to monitor the routine of employees, manage production and stock control, reduce less qualified labor, distribute tasks via systems, as well as standardize the quality of processes within the company.

Rodrigo Andrade Oliveira, Head of Hunting at Rappi, also highlighted that although AI is not something so new, it has been improved in recent years and is currently being applied for effective use in the food service market. “GPT chat is something very new and is spreading very quickly worldwide, especially in the restaurant industry, and I think it will start to arrive quickly here in Brazil”, he says.

Oliveira mentioned the case of an American company that uses GPT chat to produce a menu and publish content from its own restaurant on social networks, in less than 50 seconds.

“With the GPT chat you have automated texts about your menu and your restaurant, in addition to posts on Instagram… and what we saw there at the NRA is something very innovative”, he comments.

The discussion on the use of artificial intelligence by companies in the food service sector took over the debates throughout the event. “If you have AI to make a recipe, what is the role of the chef?” asked panelist Natalia Estrela, Head of Marketing for Food Service Latam at Cargill.

Estrela highlighted how innovations in the food service sector will positively impact restaurants, but also questioned the extent to which some of them are just fads. She brought as an example the case of the robot that takes and collects dishes from customers’ tables, in the United States. The trend emerged in the pandemic to avoid contagion from Covid, however, after a time of experiment, employees ended up being hired to follow the robot in order to avoid problems with customer service.

Despite some gaps and improvements that technologies impose, the panelists were unanimous in stating, in general, that repetitive and mechanical work will be increasingly robotized.

“What doesn’t change is likely to be robotized. Creation will not be robotized, the things that people do, invent, but what is always the same, from Sunday to Sunday, in all shifts, can be robotized”, noted Oliveira.

Voice recognition in the purchase interaction

The application of automation systems is also a strong trend in food service, bringing agility and efficiency to the operation. Panelists cited cases of companies that are already fully automated, with no human contact.

An example is voice recognition applied in customer purchase interaction, whether at the POS (point of sale), at the counter, in self-service, where the consumer says what he wants and the machine registers and executes it. Despite not being a new technology, voice recognition has been applied more strongly since the pandemic, as Oliveira reports.

This is the case of an operation by Taco Bell, a Mexican fast food chain, in the United States, where there are no people. “You enter the drive thru, place your order by voice, the equipment recognizes your voice, recognizes what you order, feeds your cart, you just tap your credit card and take your order at the other conveyor belt in the drive. All this is already a reality”, he comments.

In addition, cases of touchless self-service, approach-only, or drone delivery are already a reality in the US. Still, panelists highlighted the need for balance between technology and hospitality, as consumers want and value personal interaction and personalized service in restaurants.

To learn more about the main food service news verified at the NRA Show 2023, keep following Bom Gourmet. Next week we will bring other trends pointed out by the panelists present at the 2nd edition of FoodCo. Experience. Sustainability, the use of plant-based products and investment in qualified labor will be some of the topics covered, which will soon impact businesses in the food sector in the domestic market.