How Restaurants Are Using AI in 2026: New Data From 676 Operators | Toast Insights

Restaurants, like the rest of the world in 2026, are grappling with how to implement and best utilize artificial intelligence. The latest data from Toast’s Voice of the Restaurant survey shows operators, by and large, are already experimenting with AI and working to further take advantage of the technology.

To better understand the restaurant industry, including its perception of AI, Toast surveyed 676 restaurant operators and decision-makers from April 3, 2026, to April 20, 2026. What was clear: The vast majority of restaurant operators are already experimenting with AI and seem willing to embrace it further moving forward. 

The Voice of the Restaurant Industry is a blind survey of operators and decision-makers with 16 or fewer locations in the United States, including both Toast and non-Toast customers. Respondents were not informed that Toast was conducting the study. 

Among 676 respondents:

• 87% of restaurant operators are comfortable with AI

• Nearly nine-in-ten are using AI

• 85% will use AI more in the future

• 42% are experimenting with AI only with vendors

The upshot: Nearly nine-in-ten restaurant operators said they’re experimenting with AI tools and 87% are comfortable with AI, according to Toast's 2026 Voice of the Restaurant Industry survey of 676 US restaurant operators from April 3-20, 2026. Sentiment toward AI was positive across the board, with roughly eight-in-ten operators agreeing they trusted AI for their business needs, that it helped with efficiency at work, that it was a good value, and that they would use it more in the future.

The vast majority of restaurant operators say they are comfortable with artificial intelligence. 

Digging deeper, a plurality of restaurants — 42% — are experimenting with AI via their vendors. Smaller percentages of operators described experimenting with AI with both their vendors and on their own (25%) and on their own but not with vendors (19%). Just 11% said they were considering AI but hadn’t experimented with it yet, while just 2% weren’t considering AI at all. These figures also remained relatively consistent when broken down into full-service restaurants (FSR) and quick-service restaurants (QSR).

Among qualifying respondents:

• Operators are using AI for common tasks like inventory, labor, menu optimization, forecasting, and marketing

• 53% say using AI for inventory gives excellent ROI

• Operators usually want human oversight for AI-completed tasks

• 34% say AI could handle voice kiosks without oversight

Data from Toast’s Voice of the Restaurant Industry survey shows that restaurants are often using AI to speed up the more tedious work required of operators — but that, for the most part, operators still want human oversight. 

When operators are using AI to make operations more efficient, they’ve generally found a good return on investment. The operators who used AI for each of the operations listed below — inventory, labor/staffing, menu optimization, forecasting, and guest engagement — largely described positive ROI across the board. For inventory and food ordering, for instance, 53% of operators described receiving excellent ROI from AI.

While restaurant operators have described, overall, feeling comfortable with AI experimentation, it seems they still want oversight from actual people. While some respondents described that they would fully allow AI to handle some tasks — most notably 34% would let AI handle a voice kiosk — the plurality often wanted humans to oversee tasks.

It’s clear from the data that AI is a part of restaurants’ present and future, with operators growing more comfortable with the tech and more willing to allow it to take on more tedious tasks. But, as ever in hospitality, the human touch seems to still be required.