AI Advances, Diners Still Want Human Experiences

Generative AI has advanced from the Adoption stage to the Proliferation stage on Datassential’s updated Macro Trends Menu Adoption Cycle, with new survey data showing that more than half of consumers are now familiar with the technology and over a third use AI tools at least once a day.

At present, AI usage skews younger, with Gen Z and Millennials significantly more likely than Gen X or Boomers to use AI tools daily and describe themselves as familiar with it.

Foodservice brands are moving just as fast. Taco Bell has scaled its Omilia voice AI ordering system to more than 890 U.S. drive-throughs across 38 states, with the company’s chief digital officer saying the expansion frees staff “to engage with customers in a more meaningful way.” 

Voice ordering has moved from pilot to standard across the industry: SoundHound, a voice AI company, has grown from about 9,000 restaurants in 2024 to more than 16,000 today, including White Castle and Jersey Mike’s, according to a SmartBrief report. 

Burger King has taken the concept further, testing an OpenAI-powered chatbot called “Patty” across 500 units that tracks whether employees say “please” and “thank you” during drive-thru interactions, turning AI from a tool that frees staff for hospitality into one that measures it.

Starbucks, meanwhile, is applying AI on the back end, developing in-house software to replace Microsoft inventory-tracking and IBM maintenance systems as part of a $2 billion cost-cutting plan aimed partly at its $400 million annual software bill, Bloomberg reported this month.

But as the incorporation of AI rapidly progresses into dining experiences, consumers still crave warm and human experiences even though many aspects of foodservice have become more convenient and efficient. According to Datassential’s May 2026 consumer survey, 79% of consumers say they want to interact and connect with real people when dining out, and 81% want a warm, personal experience.

At the same time, just 36% agree they love using automation such as self-serve kiosks or voice ordering, and 43% actively disagree. 

To be sure, that gap narrows among Gen Z: 49% of that cohort say they love using automation when dining out, well above the overall average. However, 73% of those younger consumers still want to interact and connect with real people, and 76% still want a warm, personal experience.

That sentiment extends well beyond the dining experience. Seventy percent of consumers say that, in general, technology is making life more efficient but less personal, and 71% say human interaction feels more valuable as technology advances, according to the same survey.

“These aren’t necessarily anti-technology sentiments. In fact, many consumers have now grown accustomed to the efficiency technology provides and now expect that convenience across many areas of life,” said Huy Do, Datassential’s Research and Insights Manager & Trendologist. “What they actually crave is harder to automate: depth, warmth, the presence of another person.”

The How AI Will Shape 2026 & Beyond chapter of Datassential’s 2026 Trends report underscored the conflict, showing that more than three-quarters of consumers believe AI systems should always involve human oversight — with an even higher share among Boomers (85%). 

Operators are similarly guarded about ceding full control — just 22% would be comfortable letting AI autonomously manage operational tasks, and only 26% would share sales, customer, or labor data to train AI systems. But operators aren’t rejecting AI outright; they’re drawing a line around where it belongs. Comfort rises sharply for behind-the-scenes work such as allergen and nutrition analysis (35%), predictive maintenance (32%) and market research and trend analysis (33%), the report found.

That divide suggests where AI’s role in foodservice is likely to settle, at least in the near future: handling the administrative work behind the scenes so staff can spend more time on the parts of hospitality only a person can deliver.