Casual dining chains counter sagging sales with virtual assistants, AI

Casual dining chains are leaving few technology stones unturned in the push to jumpstart their ailing businesses. Dine Brands Global, owner of U.S. restaurant brands IHOP and Applebees, is testing technologies that enable consumers to order from their homes by speaking to Google Assistant software or from their cars via General Motors' and Chevy's head units. Meanwhile, TGI Fridays is using AI and machine learning (ML) to help mix drinks and target consumers with highly personalized offers. These digital-based moves come as sales across most longstanding U.S.-based casual dining chains have softened over the past decade, thanks to shifting consumer preferences for fast-casual dining and newer, novel chains and independents.