Toast (NYSE: TOST) has significantly expanded its Toast IQ intelligence ecosystem by introducing a conversational AI assistant designed for restaurants and food and beverage retailers, leveraging real-time and historical data from approximately 148,000 customer locations to proactively surface insights and execute tasks.
The new Toast IQ assistant is purpose-built for the hospitality industry, aiming to act as an operator’s “right hand” by moving beyond simple answers to provide actionable insights and facilitate direct task execution within the Toast platform. It offers a personalized “For you” feed with timely recommendations, allows users to ask complex business questions in natural language, and enables actions such as updating menus or editing staff shifts through a single conversational interface. For instance, Toast IQ can identify top-selling items by daypart, add a menu item from a single prompt, automatically update menus across various service channels, and quickly respond to staffing inquiries.
Building on a suite of smart features launched earlier this year, the Toast IQ conversational AI assistant is now available to all U.
S. customers on both iOS and Android platforms, accessible via the Toast Now mobile app and Toast Web. Developed through close collaboration with customers, Toast IQ features practical skills and memory capabilities designed for continuous improvement, with plans to integrate additional data sources and expand its action capabilities across the Toast platform over time.
Steve Fredette, President and Co-Founder of Toast, commented on the development: “Operators have access to a wealth of data that can inform business decisions, but often lack the time to extract actionable insights. Toast IQ addresses this challenge by providing an easy-to-use, always-on experience that offers proactive, personalized recommendations and enables quick actions across the Toast platform. It understands each user’s business and the industry, furthering our vision to deliver practical, outcome-driven AI to hospitality businesses of all sizes.”
Recent Toast research indicates that over 81% of restaurant operators anticipate increased AI usage in the future, particularly for improving margins, saving time, and making more informed decisions. Toast IQ utilizes real-time and historical data from the Toast platform, alongside contextual information such as local weather and events, to offer several key functionalities. These include surfacing tailored, proactive opportunities through a personalized “For you” feed and “Explore” prompts, highlighting trends in sales, labor, and menu performance. Operators can also ask complex business questions, receiving clear, actionable answers and personalized recommendations based on daily transactions and data points, such as suggesting menu adjustments for underperforming dishes.
Furthermore, Toast IQ enables real-time actions directly from its chat interface, allowing users to create and edit menu items and modifiers or adjust shift auto-clockouts. The assistant is designed to understand hospitality shorthand, for example, processing commands like “86 all items with avocado” or “adjust a server’s clockout from Friday’s dinner shift,” completing these tasks rapidly without requiring managers to navigate multiple settings.
Romain Bernus, Co-Owner and Head of Operations and Growth at Le Petit Four Bakery in Wellesley, MA, reported significant operational improvements from early access to Toast IQ. He stated that complex reports, which previously took hours of late-night research, now take five seconds, providing instant clarity and enabling more confident business decisions, such as evaluating the profitability of new menu items like a seasonal Pumpkin Spice Latte. Bernus also noted the tool’s ability to identify and reward high-performing employees, citing an instance where a barista’s efficiency was recognized.
In a strategic collaboration, Toast is partnering with The Coca-Cola Company to integrate an exclusive AI-powered feature within Toast IQ, aimed at optimizing beverage sales and boosting restaurant revenue. This feature will proactively suggest recommendations through the “For you” feed, such as optimizing Coca-Cola products with engaging photos and descriptions, which operators can accept with minimal clicks. Josh Gurley, Vice President of Digital Partnerships & Capabilities at The Coca-Cola Company North America, emphasized that beverages are a high-margin opportunity often underrepresented in digital orders, and this collaboration provides a powerful solution to a fundamental business challenge by seamlessly optimizing menus.
Toast plans to continue the evolution of Toast IQ, with future intentions for international availability and expanded capabilities tailored for single-location restaurants, multi-unit operators, and enterprise accounts.
