When you read Deloitte’s “AI in Restaurants” report, the headline reads like a large chain’s playbook: governance, technical readiness, scalable use cases. But what if small restaurant groups – your restaurant, your dream brand – could tap into that same playbook without the huge payroll or internal teams?

That’s where modern AI meets real-world restaurants. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. You just need the right tools built for your size and pace. In this post, we’ll show how SWIPEBY bridges that gap by bringing enterprise-grade AI to independent and multi-unit restaurants in a turnkey way.

What Deloitte Sees — And What SMBs Should Watch

• The majority expect to increase AI investments soon.

• AI is already used most in customer experience (e.g. chatbots, recommendation engines) and inventory/operations.

• Interestingly, one of the top complaints isn’t “no ideas,” but “which use cases are scalable and valuable.”

For SMBs, these challenges may feel even bigger, but they’re also opportunities. Because if you don’t have a huge tech stack, you can move faster, and you don’t have to fight legacy systems or bureaucratic inertia.

Why SMB Restaurants Can Actually Leapfrog Big Chains

• Agility over bureaucracy. Big brands spend years rewriting systems; you can adopt solid AI solutions tomorrow.

• No legacy drag. Chains are bound by existing software, contracts, and workflows. SMBs can start fresh.

• Lower risk, faster ROI. You don’t need to bet the farm — pilot a few high-impact features and scale.

• Better customer connections. The more you own your customer data and brand, the less you depend on third parties.

SWIPEBY’s AI Use Cases: Built for Independent Restaurants, Not Experiments

Use Case: Customer Experience

Deloitte: Many brands already use recommendation engines or bots.

SWIPEBY: AI-driven remarketing and Upselling/Cross-selling bring customers back and increase basket size.

Use Case: AI Voice/Call bots

Deloitte: Voice AI is in pilot or use phases for many chains.

SWIPEBY: AI Phone Answering manages hundreds to thousands of calls per location.

Use Case: Reputation

Deloitte: Brands are looking to automate review response and sentiment analysis.

SWIPEBY: Our AI Reputation Manager prompts positive reviews, flags negative unfair reviews, and responds to reviews automatically.

Scalable Use Case Selection: Brands struggle with which AI moves to make first. SWIPEBY helps a lot of restaurants just like yours. We can provide an overview of what AI tools best fit your current business. You don’t have to guess.

Key Takeaways for independent restaurant operators

• Start with features that pay you back, like remarketing and review optimization.

• Don’t build your own. Adopt tools that handle complexity for you.

• Treat AI as a team member, not a project. Work with your SWIPEBY AE and onboarding team to quickly start getting results.

In Summary

Yes, Deloitte’s insights come from enterprise brands, but they reflect challenges and opportunities that restaurants of all sizes face. The difference? SWIPEBY gives you the same power, without the complexity.

Stop watching how big brands use AI. Start using that same technology now to save time and increase revenue.