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How Mid-Sized Restaurant Chains are Using AI Voice Tech to Cut Labor Costs?

• by admin
• June 19, 2025
• Phone AI

“We have more calls nowadays because people find it easier to place their orders. I think that’s the power of AI voice technology.” A restaurant chain owner who sells continental vegan meals said. AI voice-assisted restaurants are experiencing the impact that this technology serves on the table. 

Meticulous Research reported that the voice and speech recognition market is expected to reach $26.8 billion this year. One of the reasons is due to the rising consumer demand that pushes restaurant chain owners to up their game. Consumers use their smartphone devices to place orders, and more importantly, they are akin to using advanced technology. So, let’s look at how mid-sized restaurant chains are using AI voice technology to optimize labor costs.

How are AI Voice-Assisted Restaurants Saving Up on Labor Costs?

AI phone agents can significantly enhance call efficiency during food orders. It is consistency that plays a major role here! Human phone assistants may take a day off, which is only natural. A single or more than one staff member can’t handle food orders for hours and hours without burning themselves out. This is where an AI phone assistant can step in and take an order, or thousands in a week.

A positive shift in staff productivity

A mid-sized restaurant chain has to make sure they don’t overspend its budget on labor. If they do, it could affect their overall profit-making capacity.

Restaurant revenue typically brings in $250,000 to $1 million annually, depending on their size. Although if sales are high, these restaurants may still manage to gain a profit margin between 3% to 10%. However, leveraging AI phone answering systems for restaurants can boost revenue, and give any overburdened staff some much-needed breathing space.

When AI phone answering services take over, the kitchen staff can:

1. Work better on the food prep duration
2. Observe quality control
3. Offer enhanced execution of work
4. Work less stressed during peak hours

Less Time and Cost Spent on Hiring and Training Staff

When mid-sized restaurant chains get better at doing their business, they have to expand. However, that also means spending more on increasing the staff. While the labor equation is not something to take lightly, it is necessary to understand how technology can work here.

An AI phone system for restaurants allows for a more strategic deployment of staff duties. An AI call agent requires minimal training for taking orders on the call. This aspect helps especially during staffing shortages. Meanwhile, the restaurant staff can focus more on maintaining high-value customer interactions.

The AI Phone Assistant for Mid-Sized Restaurant Chains

VOICEplug offers an AI phone answering service, which proves to be the phone-ordering revolution for several restaurant chain owners. It offers:

1. A customer engagement feature through advanced call management
2. Upselling the latest promotions and managing general inquiries
3. Taking the pressure off the staff when pressed with peak hours
4. Customer calls and resolutions are taken on priority with zero hold times.
5. A strategic direction to handle future calls based on the phone AI’s data-driven analytics.

Is a phone AI assistant just another added expense to a mid-sized restaurant chain owner’s pockets? Will it affect the revenue that comes in, or will it enhance it? Several AI voice-assisted restaurants are already seeing measurable results. Also, as more and more customers easily adjust to interacting with AI phone agents, the coming years are bound to witness increasing interaction with this incredible technology.

To get an idea, listen to how an AI phone answering service might sound while talking to your customers. Feel free to book a demo with VOICEplug; it only takes a minute to take your business to the next level.