By Robert Hi-Fong, Director of Business Development at RizePoint

Artificial intelligence (AI) is an absolute game-changer, revolutionizing the way businesses operate. AI is expected to add $90-100 billion to the economy in the next three years, and that number jumps to an astronomical $15.7 trillion globally by 2030.

The explosive growth of AI is due, in large part, to the many significant business benefits it offers.

Whether you’re in the restaurant, hospitality, retail, or other industries, if you aren’t yet using AI in your organization, now’s the time to start. AI is optimizing every aspect of operations – elevating quality and safety, improving efficiency, boosting transparency, and enhancing the customer experience.

Increasingly, brands like Domino’s, Panera, Walmart, Hilton Hotels, and AmazonGo are using AI to:

• Analyze large volumes of data. One of AI’s biggest benefits is its ability to analyze massive, complex data. This gives brand operators important insights to guide better decision-making, which can help improve purchasing, staffing, scheduling, and other important decisions to save money, optimize resources, and reduce waste.

• Optimize operations. AI can help improve every aspect of an organization’s operations. This innovative technology can help brands increase automation to reduce administrative burden, which is especially valuable during the ongoing labor shortages. AI can also boost productivity, efficiency, profitability, quality, and sustainability, while reducing waste, expenses, and errors.
• Improve quality control. AI monitors and analyzes quality parameters, ensuring the highest standards are maintained throughout the supply chain journey. By analyzing massive amounts of data, AI-powered systems can accurately detect defects, contaminants, or anomalies to help improve product quality. AI’s pattern recognition abilities allow brands to proactively identify and address quality issues before they negatively impact products.
• Boost food safety. Even one mistake or misstep can cause a major safety breach that can sicken guests and potentially be financially, legally, and reputationally devastating for your brand. Therefore, it’s critical to use AI to detect contaminants or spoilage to improve food safety, regulatory compliance, and consumer trust. AI is also instrumental in tracking and tracing products across the supply chain for faster, more accurate recalls if (or when) a safety breach occurs.
• Optimize supply chain management. AI improves supply chain management, allowing companies to better forecast demand, optimize inventory levels, optimize logistics, and boost safety, quality, and transparency across the supply chain. Additionally, AI meticulously tracks products along the supply chain journey, ensuring they move safely in controlled environments.

• Boost sustainability. Studies show that consumers consider brands’ sustainability commitments before making purchasing decisions, supporting companies that prioritize this initiative. Use AI tools to drive sustainability efforts, such as reducing food waste via accurate demand forecasting, inventory optimization, and expiration date management. AI can also track other sustainability metrics, including energy usage and efficiency.
• Boost cleaning and sanitation. AI-powered tools can automate and improve cleaning and sanitation processes to meet stringent food safety standards and eliminate potential hazards from cross contamination, norovirus, COVID, etc.  For example, robots can automate and speed up the cleaning process, using high-grade, germ-killing cleansers and UV lights to disinfect spaces.
• Elevate customer service. Brands can use AI-driven tools to set themselves apart from the competition. AI can help brands understand customers’ individualized preferences, such as recommending a certain kind of diapers for new parents or introducing new plant-based products to vegetarians. Additionally, AI can provide quick, customized responses to customers’ emails and social media posts, questions, and comments. AI-driven chatbots and virtual assistants can promptly book reservations, answer questions, and offer personalized recommendations, driving higher consumer satisfaction, loyalty, retention, recommendations, and sales.

No matter what type of business you’re in, AI can help elevate all aspects of operations, including safety, quality, transparency, efficiency, accuracy, sustainability, and improving the customer experience. All brands should adopt AI to remain competitive and stay ahead of the curve.

For more information about how RizePoint’s solutions can help your organization strengthen your food safety, quality, and compliance programs, let’s talk.