Toast, a cloud-based platform serving the restaurant industry, has launched ToastIQ, an integrated intelligence engine designed to support daily operations through automation, data insights and real-time recommendations.
ToastIQ is built into Toast’s existing platform and utilises information from more than 130,000 restaurant locations to help staff operate more efficiently.
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The system uses AI combined with historical transaction data and industry-specific patterns to provide task-specific tools and guidance for restaurant workers at all levels. Initial features focus on assisting servers, marketing teams and managers.
Its capabilities include Menu Upsells, Shift at a Glance, and Digital Chits, aimed at bolstering service while AI-Marketing Assistant and Advertising simplify the process of attracting new guests and promoting long-term loyalty.
Menu Upsells provides order-taking prompts that suggest additional items based on guest behaviour and order history. Digital Chits pull guest information from reservation and loyalty data — such as preferences or special occasions — and display it on staff devices, aiming to reduce reliance on printed notes or verbal instructions.
Shift at a Glance allows managers to communicate key updates, such as staffing changes or item shortages, directly to staff devices, supplementing or replacing pre-shift meetings.
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By GlobalDataAI-Marketing Assistant analyses performance data to generate customised marketing campaigns across email, text and social media platforms.
The Advertising tool connects digital ad performance to restaurant sales data, enabling operators to assess which campaigns directly impact revenue. Ads can be managed from within Toast and run on platforms such as Google and Meta.
Toast co-founder Steve Fredette described the goal of ToastIQ: to simplify decision-making and streamline workflows across all roles in a restaurant.
ToastIQ is now available as part of the broader Toast platform, with more features planned in future updates.
Toast co-founder and president Steve Fredette stated: “Restaurants have a wealth of data available to help them optimise their business, but often don’t have the time or training to interpret and act on it.
“Our vision for ToastIQ is to transform every role in the restaurant ecosystem with intelligent features, greater personalisation, prompts and shortcuts across our connected products — all driving toward outsized business outcomes.
“Building ToastIQ required foundational advances in data architecture, AI, and on-device intelligence — purpose-built for the fast, complex nature of restaurant operations. From using AI models to streamline marketing plans, to syncing guest insights from reservations to handhelds in real time, to powering ROI [return on investment]-driven ad performance, ToastIQ brings intelligence into the flow of hospitality, service and growth.
“This marks the beginning of a new stage of innovation where software evolves beyond a tool restaurant professionals use, into a partner that helps them elevate their craft.”
In December 2024, Toast broadened its partnership with Uber Technologies, offering restaurateurs in the US enhanced delivery options.
