If you’ve eaten out much over the past couple of years, chances are you’ve experienced a growing number of dining experiences that use AI and automation. Restaurants across the U.S. and worldwide are adopting artificial intelligence and automation at the drive-thru, in the kitchen, at the register, and other parts of the business.
But how do diners feel about this shift? According to a new survey report from Dynata and restaurant tech startup Par Technology Corp., most consumers aren’t quite ready for a full AI takeover of their dining experience.
The online survey, fielded in March 2025 with 1,000 U.S. respondents, revealed that while a slim majority of diners are comfortable with restaurants using some AI to improve efficiency, most aren’t ready to hand the reins entirely to robots.
Figure 1: Do you believe AI should replace human restaurant workers if the technology provides more efficient service?
Source: Dynata/Par Technology, March 2025
According to the results, 52% of respondents are open to a limited use of AI in restaurants, but only 26% support AI fully replacing human workers. Age plays a significant role in attitudes: just 3% of Baby Boomers and 9% of Gen Xers strongly agree that AI should replace humans. In contrast, Gen Z and Millennials show slightly more openness, with 17% and 16% respectively strongly agreeing with the idea, but only if the technology improves efficiency. Still, half of Gen Z (49%) and Millennials (51%) somewhat or strongly disagree with replacing humans altogether.
Gender differences also stood out in the findings. Men (33%) were nearly twice as likely as women (17%) to support AI replacing restaurant workers.
For restaurants planning to ramp up AI and automation, the survey suggests you might want to tread carefully. One-third of respondents (33%) said they’ve already avoided restaurants that relied too heavily on self-service tech, and another 26% said they haven’t yet, but might in the future if tech use becomes excessive.
Finally, are diners ready to tip their robot server? The majority are not on board. According to the survey, 56% said they would not tip an AI system, while 22% said they might consider it, especially if the service was exceptional or if some portion of the tip went to human staff.
You can see the full results here.
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