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AI in QSRs: What’s Being Replaced and What’s Not?

Understanding the New AI Landscape in Quick-Service Restaurants—with Insights from Momos

Published by:
Amanda Jacob
Published date:
May 20, 2025

From AI-powered voice assistants at the drive-thru to intelligent customer recovery workflows, quick-service restaurants (QSRs) are entering a new operational era. For multi-location brands especially, the rise of machine learning isn’t just about automation—it’s about scaling service quality without compromising the human touch.

At Momos, we work at the intersection of AI and human experience. As the customer hub for some of the world’s most recognizable QSRs, we’ve seen what works—and what doesn’t—when technology is integrated into the customer journey.

💡 Want tailored solutions built for multi-location QSRs? Explore Momos and see how your brand can move faster, listen better, and act smarter.

What’s Being Automated: Replacing Routine Tasks

Automation doesn’t mean replacement—it means reallocation. When QSRs automate repetitive processes, they free up their teams to focus on experience, creativity, and leadership. Here’s where AI is making the biggest difference:

1. Drive-Thru Voice Assistants

AI voice ordering systems handle customer orders with precision and upselling consistency, never missing a prompt or losing focus, no matter how long the line.

2. Inventory and Supply Chain Management

With predictive analytics, QSRs can forecast demand across multiple locations, reduce spoilage, and ensure just-in-time restocking automatically. It's smart operations, not just cost-saving.

3. Customer Feedback Collection & Response

Momos AI helps brands monitor customer reviews across every channel—from Google to delivery platforms—and auto-tags insights by urgency, topic, and sentiment. Need to respond at scale? Our AI-generated replies stay on-brand and human-approved.

🤖 Momos AI-powered co-workers don’t replace your team—they supercharge them by eliminating noise and surfacing what matters.

What’s Not Being Replaced: Human-Centric Roles

At Momos, people still define hospitality. Our AI is designed to amplify human potential, not erase it. Here's where your people still shine brightest:

1. Personalized Customer Engagement

No algorithm can replicate empathy. Greeting a loyal customer by name or calming a frustrated guest—that's the domain of real, thoughtful people.

2. Quality Assurance & Oversight

From undercooked patties to slightly off spice levels, real-time quality control still relies on human experience and judgment.

3. Operational Leadership

Your GMs, regional leaders, and training managers bring context, coaching, and company culture to life. Momos helps them act on the right insights—but we don’t replace their leadership.

The Big Wins: Why QSRs Are Embracing AI

With the right AI platform, QSR brands can unlock massive gains in efficiency and experience. Here’s what Momos customers often see first:

  • Faster, Smarter Service
    Speed up order times, resolve complaints quicker, and respond to reviews in minutes instead of days.

  • Real-Time Insights
    Discover patterns in location-level performance, customer sentiment, and team responsiveness.

  • More Consistency, Less Variability
    With automated tagging, customer segmentation, and reporting, you eliminate guesswork and close experience gaps across every location.

Balance Is the Strategy: Let Tech Handle the Busywork

The future isn’t AI-only or human-only—it’s hybrid. That’s why Momos gives you tools that automate the repetitive while reinforcing the personal:

  • Automate core workflows like feedback management, reputation recovery, and review generation.

  • Train your team to use insights—not dashboards—so they focus on delivering great service.

  • Use data to coach better frontline performance, not just report on it.

🔍 See how Momos helps multi-location brands connect the dots between operations, feedback, and customer love.

For Multi-Location Operators: How to Get Started

Rolling out AI across your stores doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing. In fact, we recommend a phased approach—starting with wins that prove value fast.

1. Pilot, Then Expand

Use Momos to launch initiatives like AI-powered feedback triage or auto-reply workflows in a handful of locations. Validate the lift, then scale.

2. Align With Your Teams

Adoption succeeds when your staff feels included. Momos tools are intuitive and built for GMs, ops teams, and frontline staff—not just HQ.

3. Measure and Iterate

Use built-in ROI dashboards, feedback loops, and performance tracking to refine and improve over time.

Conclusion: AI Isn’t Replacing Hospitality—It’s Rebuilding It, Smarter

At the end of the day, QSR success is about speed, consistency, and connection. AI can handle the first two, but connection? That’s still human.

Momos helps you build the bridge. We unify your tools, automate your workflows, and surface the insights that let every location act fast—and stay human.

Want to see how Momos could work at your stores? Let’s chat.