Restaurants Boost AI and Tech Investment Amid Margin Pressure, But Operational Gaps Persist

Qu’s 7th Restaurant Technology Benchmark Report Shows QSRs Leading the Restaurant Industry in AI-Powered Ordering and Smarter Operations

ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Qu, the pioneer of the restaurant industry’s first unified commerce platform, today released its seventh annual Restaurant Technology Benchmark Report, finding that, despite margin pressure, brands are investing heavily in technology, including AI, to combat economic headwinds and declining guest traffic. The data also underscores a major challenge for restaurant brands: operational gaps between order processing and food preparation, leading to fragmented guest experiences.

The NRA reports restaurants are facing a difficult operating environment, with elevated food costs, rising labor expenses, and declining guest traffic, while pre-tax profit margins remain around 4%.

“When restaurants face declining guest traffic, growth can’t come from pricing alone. The guest experience must be improved across channels, from ordering to kitchen to fulfillment. To effectively address these challenges with technology, restaurants need intelligent systems built on unified data,” said Amir Hudda, CEO of Qu. “Without that foundation, AI becomes another tool layered onto disconnected systems rather than a true growth engine.”

Key findings from the report include:

1.	Macro-economic pressures drive a shift toward smarter commerce. Declining traffic pressure, combined with fragmented systems and operational execution challenges, adds more complexity, resulting in disconnected guest experiences. 57% report a decline in guest traffic (QSRs reporting 67%). 55% cite operational execution as the top barrier to delivering a better guest experience, followed by fragmented systems and data (37%). 62% say improving order flow across all channels is the top priority for 2026.
2.	Tech spend is increasing, while margins are squeezed. Brands view technology as a strategic tool to drive efficiency and guest engagement. Nearly half of brands (48%) report increasing tech investment in 2026, naming digital guest experience as the top priority (57%). QSRs are accelerating investment after lagging in tech spend over the last several years — 54% plan to increase spend compared with 44% of fast casual restaurants.
3.	AI moves from “if” to “where,” but value lags. As AI adoption accelerates, brands reevaluate the way they deliver outcomes across the guest experience and restaurant operations. 73% of operators are actively investing in AI or plan to start in 2026. Use cases focus on guest growth (53%), followed by operations (40%). Only 5% report measurable operational value or guest impact from AI to date, with an additional 33% reporting that value is emerging. QSRs emphasize front-of-house technologies, especially voice ordering (33%) and drive-thru computer vision (23%).

“What’s encouraging in this year’s data is the clear shift from experimentation to execution. Restaurants are increasing technology investment, accelerating AI adoption, and prioritizing operational improvements at scale to improve guest engagement,” said Hudda. “Operators recognize that the next phase of growth will come from modernizing how restaurants run across every channel and connecting the guest experience with smarter, more integrated systems.”

The Qu Restaurant Technology Benchmark Report (formerly titled “Qu’s State of Digital Report”) examines the challenges faced by 168 brands representing 94,000 fast-casual and quick-service restaurant (QSR) locations and their strategies to drive growth. Published annually, the report is available as a free industry resource here.

CEOs and Operators: Technology Through Different Lenses

The report reveals a clear perception gap between restaurant CEOs and the leaders responsible for running daily operations. While more than half of CEOs (53%) reported no major system instability affecting their brand, only 17% of non-CEO leaders said the same, suggesting the executives closest to operations experience technology challenges and guest impact more directly.

This difference highlights a broader dynamic: CEOs tend to prioritize strategic innovation, including operational efficiency, AI, and automation, while functional leaders focus on the reliability, data integration, and system performance that shape everyday execution and the guest experience. Without stronger cross-functional alignment, restaurants risk accelerating innovation agendas while the foundational systems needed to support them remain under strain.

“Our insights support one eternal truth: hospitality wins. Brands that keep hospitality front and center while simplifying operations and thoughtfully integrating modern technology will lead the pack,” said Jen Kern, CMO of Qu. “The 2026 report builds on seven years of research, making this one of the restaurant technology industry’s most trusted resources for helping operators stay ahead.”

About Qu

Qu is the unified commerce platform helping quick-service and fast-casual restaurants boost efficiency and grow revenue. Purpose-built from the ground up with smart cloud technology, Qu puts real-time intelligence where it’s needed most - right in the restaurant - through its proprietary Business Edge, Qube. The result: streamlined operations, stronger margins, and memorable guest experiences.

On a mission to propel restaurants beyond today's limitations, Qu is a long-term technology partner trusted to deliver solutions that are as reliable as they are revolutionary, and intuitive as they are impactful.

Based in Arlington, Virginia, Qu is backed by leading restaurant entrepreneurs and investors, including Cota Capital, Enlightened Hospitality Investments, Bobby Cox Companies, and NRD Capital.

Serve smarter with Qu. Learn more at qubeyond.com and linkedin.com/company/qupos.