Yum China, which operates Pizza Hut and KFC outlets in China, is piloting an AI-enabled assistant for managing day-to-day tasks, such as labour scheduling, inventory management, and food quality and safety inspection.

The Q-Smart hands-free AI-enabled assistant helps frontline restaurant managers by providing intelligent support for decision-making across a broad spectrum of restaurant operations.

Q-Smart allows managers to interact with the system hands-free using wearable devices such as wireless earphones and smart watches, enhancing operational efficiencies. This is different from traditional restaurant systems where employees often rely on touchscreens or PCs to complete tasks, which occupy their hands. Using natural language, Q-Smart can interact directly with restaurant managers to help them better manage operational tasks throughout the day.

For example, Q-Smart continuously monitors a restaurant’s inventory and compares it with upcoming sales forecasting, reminding managers to make timely ordering and replenishment decisions that can help the store optimise inventory use. It can understand and respond to managers’ voice commands, helping them quickly and accurately conduct hands-free equipment inspections and inventory counts. At the same time, drawing from Yum China’s knowledge base, the system can provide real-time support for managers to handle urgent operational issues.

Having passed the initial development and testing phase, Q-Smart is now being piloted at select KFC stores. Following this pilot phase, further user feedback will be incorporated, paving the way for a larger-scale rollout in the future.

“Q-Smart is not just an AI tool, it is a potential game-changer for how restaurants can be managed,” said Leila Zhang, chief technology officer at Yum China. “We believe that Q-Smart will not only help Yum China improve its operational efficiency, but can also serve as an example for the digital transformation and smart development of the catering industry.”

Yum China began integrating AI-assisted store management and scheduling tools as early as 2019. In 2021, it rolled out its AI-powered Super Brain tool, leveraging operational data from its store network to aid store managers’ decision-making. In 2022, the company introduced handheld Pocket Managers, allowing managers to track operational metrics in real time. Yum China began exploring applications for generative AI in its systems in 2023, and by 2024 it had started integrating genAI into various business scenarios, including logistics and supply chain, customer service, and back-office functions.

Q-Smart was officially launched at Yum China’s first-ever AI Day event last week in Shanghai.

Yum China (ir.yumchina.com) is the largest restaurant company in China. The company operates over 16,000 restaurants under six brands across over 2300 cities in China. As well as KFC and Pizza Hut, it has partnered with Lavazza to develop the Lavazza coffee concept in China. Little Sheep and Huang Ji Huang specialise in Chinese cuisine. And Taco Bell offers Mexican-inspired food.