Overcoming the Love Gap: AI-Enabled Relationship-Building by Robot Chefs

The development and adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic technologies in the foodservice industry has expanded dramatically. The economic benefits of such adoption are likely to be similar to those experienced by other sectors, such as manufacturing. However, unlike many other sectors, the appeal of restaurants involves consumer perceptions of those making the product. In particular, we argue that-especially in craft food contexts-consumers expect food to be prepared "with love." As robots are intuitively incapable of doing so, restaurateurs face a conundrum: how to take advantage of the economic benefits of robotic chefs, while maintaining consumer perceptions that meals are prepared with love? We test a series of potential interventions aimed at overcoming the gap in such perceptions and find that AI-enabled (i.e., chat-based) relationship-building between robot chefs and restaurant patrons is the most effective option. In fact, our relationship-building intervention fully closes the gap between preferences for human chefs, relative to robotic chefs. Additional managerial and theoretical implications are discussed.