Restaurant technology trends for 2026, with dates and sources

The main restaurant technology trends in 2026: AI assistants built into the POS, AI phone ordering from a POS company, drive-thru voice AI growing at some chains and slowing at others, guests taking to kiosks and apps faster than to talking bots, and chains dropping automation that did not fit. Each item below has a date and a source.

The money behind these trends is tight. The National Restaurant Association's 2026 State of the Restaurant Industry release (February 2026) says 42 percent of operators reported their restaurant was not profitable last year.

What are the biggest restaurant technology trends in 2026?

Trend	What happened	What it means for one restaurant
AI inside the POS	Toast made its Toast IQ assistant available to all U.S. customers in October 2025. Square added a Square AI assistant to its dashboard the same month.	Check what your POS now includes before you buy a separate AI tool
AI marketing agents	Toast launched Toast IQ Grow in May 2026, bundled for $499/month, with a Marketing Agent in beta	Compare the bundle with what you pay for email, texts and loyalty today
AI phone ordering	Square launched AI-Powered Voice Ordering for phone calls in October 2025. Maple and SoundHound also sell phone ordering that writes into POS systems.	The phone is the easiest place to try AI ordering, since it needs no new equipment
Drive-thru voice AI	Taco Bell passed 890 drive-thrus with Omilia (July 2026). Burger King narrowed its tests and is making it easier to reach a person (September 2026).	Any lane test needs a quick way for guests to reach a person
Kiosks, apps and handhelds	Guests told the National Restaurant Association they are more comfortable with apps, kiosks and table tablets than with AI bots (February 2026)	Screens the guest controls are the safer bet at the counter
Messaging agents	Meta opened its Business Agent for WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram to businesses of all sizes in June 2026, free to start with paid plans to come	Try it on a channel where a wrong answer costs little
Pullbacks	Starbucks ended automated inventory counting in May 2026	Run a small test with a stop rule before you roll anything out

How many restaurants use AI in 2026?

About a quarter. In the National Restaurant Association's 2026 report, 26% of operators said they use AI tools, Restaurant Dive reported (February 2026). Marketing led: 19% of full-service and 15% of limited-service operators use AI for it. Only 6% use AI for customer orders.

The same report asked where tech budgets go. According to Restaurant Business (February 2026), 60% of operators plan to invest in tech that improves the guest experience, 54% in front-of-house tech, 48% in back-of-house tech and 44% in cybersecurity. Operators said on-premises ordering and payment tech had the biggest impact of any technology over the past two to three years.

What did the POS companies add?

The big change is that AI now comes with the POS. Toast's October 2025 release says Toast IQ answers questions about sales and labor and can take actions such as editing menu items or shift clock-outs from a chat window. Toast's May 2026 release added Toast IQ Grow, bundled for $499/month with a Marketing Agent in beta and a human marketing manager, and AI-driven menu upsell suggestions on handhelds, kiosks and guest displays.

Square's October 2025 release added AI-Powered Voice Ordering for phone calls, a redesigned Square Kiosk, one menu synced across online ordering, kiosks and delivery apps, and an AI procurement tool called Order Guide. If you run Toast or Square, read your POS's release notes before you shop elsewhere. Comparing the two? See Toast vs Square.

Is drive-thru voice AI still growing?

At some chains, yes. Omilia said in July 2026 that its voice AI runs in more than 890 Taco Bell drive-thrus in 38 states, and that the two signed an agreement to keep deploying it. Restaurant Business reported in June 2026 that McDonald's is testing voice ordering in five drive-thrus with Google. Toast launched Toast Drive-Thru in April 2026, with AI voice ordering integrations, starting with brands of 15 or more locations.

Others slowed down. In September 2026, Restaurant Business reported that Burger King is testing voice AI in about 50 to 70 drive-thrus, saw guests drive off because they did not want to talk to a bot, and is making it easier to order from a person. Technomic data shown at the same conference found 23% of consumers find ordering from an AI drive-thru bot appealing and 46% find it unappealing.

Our tracker of chains using AI at the drive-thru lists each chain's status with dates.

Which technology do guests accept?

The technology guests control. In the National Restaurant Association's consumer survey, reported by Restaurant Business, 74% of consumers were comfortable ordering and paying on a mobile app, 68% with kiosks and 67% with a tablet at the table. Fewer liked newer tools: 46% would order online through an AI chatbot, and 39% from an AI persona on a video screen.

Guests are split on tech overall. Just over 40% said technology improves their restaurant experience, 38% said it does not, and 21% said it makes no difference. For kiosk choices, see our self-order kiosk buyer's guide.

What got pulled back?

Starbucks ended its automated inventory counting program, Nation's Restaurant News reported in May 2026. It had used the system only for milks and other beverages, and said it wanted one consistent counting process. Burger King's drive-thru change above is the other clear example this year. Our restaurant robots tracker covers kitchen machines that shut down or changed hands.

A single restaurant can copy what these chains did: test in one place, keep a person ready to step in, and write down when you will stop.

What should a single restaurant do this year?

1. Read your POS release notes from the last 12 months. You may already pay for an AI assistant, menu sync or kiosk software.
2. Pick your worst bottleneck: unanswered calls, a slow lane, a counter line, or hours spent on marketing and ordering stock.
3. If calls go unanswered at peak, try AI phone answering or ordering on a forwarded line first. Maple's phone ordering writes orders into supported POS systems, and its plans are on the pricing page.
4. If the counter is the problem, look at kiosks and handhelds before talking bots, given what guests say they accept.
5. Keep a fast path to a person on every AI channel, and test it with staff busy.
6. Write down today's numbers before you start: calls missed, orders fixed by staff, wait at the counter or lane.
7. Set a stop rule and a review date before the trial begins.

For the other ways restaurants use AI, job by job, see our guide to AI for restaurants by task.

Published by Maple. This AI-assisted roundup combines company releases (Toast, Square, Omilia, Meta) with trade press reports of National Restaurant Association, Technomic and chain data. It reports what those sources said on the dates given. It does not add our own survey or promise a result for your restaurant.