No one would argue that Artificial Intelligence is a force multiplier for change.

The food industry has embraced this opportunity with gusto with restaurants of all sizes and services investing enthusiastically in solutions promising to streamline operations and improve services.

No surprise there as the slightest improvement in margins in an industry notorious for extremely tight margins, translates into an immediate improvement in revenue. Add in intense competition and labour shortages, and and the entire food industry value chain from food distributors to delivery services can't help but see the promise of AI-driven improvements across operations including order tracking and digital menus to forecasting that enhances inventory management and streamlines logistics -- as manna from heaven.

Investing in upgrading technology, introducing AI-led solutions and especially Agentic AI for B2B and B2C customer services in the food industry has the potential to deliver efficiency gains, cost savings, improved customer satisfaction on the back of faster, more accurate order processing.

This is not to say there are no challenges: resistance to change and the challenges of marrying advanced solutions with legacy technology lead the pull towards maintaining the status quo, while labour shortages and rising costs are pushing many businesses decisively towards change.

Like almost any other industry, the food services industry is evolving too, embracing AI and digital transformation as an inevitability. No business is too small to invest in technology that can streamline operations, deliver efficiencies, improve customer services.

In a hyperconnected ecosystem of orders, deliveries and instant gratification, size doesn't matter ~ if you're a Food SMB and still thinking about upgrading your technology and taking the leap into AI-led solutions ~ invest. It's a matter of your survival.