Consumer
Want Bacon With That? IHOP Taps Google’s AI to Boost Web Orders
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An IHOP restaurant in Chicago, Illinois.
Photographer: Scott Olson/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
For restaurants, one of the downsides of online ordering is that there isn’t a waiter pitching appetizers or a side of bacon. IHOP is betting that using Google’s AI-powered recommendations will help that.
Customers logged onto the company’s website will now see suggestions to compliment their order, according to Krish Lakshminarayanan, vice president of data and analytics at Dine Brands Global Inc., IHOP’s parent company. That might look like pointing guests who like flavored pancakes to a pumpkin spice version or adding coffee to an order.