AI trends and strategies QSRs should watch out for according to Tabsquare.AI’s Managing Director

Chirag Chandrabhan Tejuja joins other QSR leaders at the QSR Media Asia Tabsquare Conference & Awards.

In the rapidly evolving landscape of quick-service restaurants (QSRs), staying ahead of the curve is essential. And currently, the way to stay ahead is incorporating AI into the business whether it's for operational efficiencies, marketing, or elevating the customer experience.

These are just some of the topics that will be discussed at the upcoming QSR Media Asia Tabsquare Conference & Awards this 23 April at Furama RiverFront, Singapore.

Chirag Chandrabhan Tejuja, Managing Director of Tabsquare.AI, is set to take the stage at the Leader’s Panel, a cornerstone of the event, to delve into the diverse challenges and emerging trends shaping the industry.

Ahead of the event, QSR Media caught up with Chirag to discuss his thoughts on cutting-edge technologies to common misconceptions about AI.

QSR Media: What are some of the interesting trends you've noticed in the past year that QSR leaders should keep an eye out for?

Chirag: Rise of technologies such as Generative AI and Learning Language models and their application to various industries. This is going to help the restaurant industry generate more personalised and engaging marketing content to draw customers in and react faster to market trends. Dynamic pricing for restaurants by seasonality and location based on competitive datasets to optimise for customer spend and profitability.  

How do you think QSRs could maintain their competitive advantage using AI in a quickly changing landscape?

Given competition and brands reaching out to customers for the same share of the pie, brands need to create a personal outreach plan tailored to each customer based on their visit, spending patterns.   

What are some common misconceptions and mistakes about AI that are related to the QSR industry?  

Many tech solution companies use AI as a buzzword without having the right system architecture and software tools to support it, whereby static recommendations are passed of as AI. Due to the adoption of such solutions restaurants may not be able to benefit from the full potential of AI.

How do you think these mistakes can be avoided?  

As QSRs start to adopt digital ordering solutions and see a high % of usage by the customers, they are starting to understand the importance of using the digital solution not as an ordering but as a selling tool. Better training of Marketing and C-Level to understand the data being generated and the levers they can play with to influence sales can help them both harness the power of AI and choose the tools that can help them deliver the correct AI-driven personalized tools to drive customer engagement.

Larger QSRs have now started creating specialized roles within their organisations for e.g. Chief Digital officers, etc who understand the power of data and work at the interface of IT and Marketing to deliver on data’s full potential for the organisation.  

What would be your advice to QSR brands in terms of choosing tech vendors looking to remain competitive in a constantly changing market?  

Choose your tech vendors not only based on what the vendor is providing you today but the  size of the vendor’s tech team, quality of resources, and the capability of the vendor to constantly innovate and respond to ever-changing market needs.  

What specific insights do you want to leave the audience in your speaking/panel session?  

AI is no longer limited to personalised menus like Netflix or Amazon, but it has now become centre place tapping on Generative AI tools like ChatGPT and LLMs for unique image generation for engaging the customer both from identifying personalized content, curating it, and delivering it at every touchpoint both within and outside the restaurant. Following video trends like TikTok, others how can we draw customer attention using videofication, etc.

Hear more from Chirag at the QSR Media Asia Tabsquare Conference & Awards this 23 April.