Fast food operators are embedding artificial intelligence into sales, recruitment, and site selection, moving the technology beyond back-office tasks and into direct revenue-generating roles. At the QSR Media UK Redcat Conference & Awards 2026, operations heads from YouMeSushi, IRO Sushi, and Eatphoria detailed how AI is already changing the way they upsell customers and choose new locations.
AI-driven upselling at the point of purchase
IRO Sushi has deployed an AI system that intervenes during the ordering process to push higher-value transactions. The technology presents customers with automated suggestions designed to increase the total basket size.
"We started using AI system, where customers are giving options to do upscaling the order, which increase the basket," said Sultan Thakur, Director of Operations at IRO Sushi. The business has also extended AI into phone ordering. Thakur said calls from customers now go entirely to AI, from order taking through to payment, cutting the need for staff involvement at certain locations. The system has rolled out across selected sites following successful trials.
Franchise recruitment gets an AI overhaul
Tim Circus, Head of Franchise at YouMeSushi, said AI is already shaping how the brand approaches franchisee recruitment and visibility. While details on the specific tools remain limited, the shift signals that operators are treating AI as a pipeline tool, not just a customer-facing feature.
Site selection backed by mobile data
Eatphoria is applying AI at a more strategic level, using it to guide property selection and expansion. Richard Benton, Chief Operating Officer at Eatphoria, explained that their technology partner uses mobile data to track footfall, vehicle traffic, demographics, and even disposable income in specific areas.
"It knows you don't work here because you don't come here five days a week. It knows you don't live here because you're not here seven days a week. So, what that data will do will pinpoint certain locations," Benton said. This allows the company to make data-driven property decisions for franchisees rather than relying on instinct. Benton revealed the service costs roughly £13,000 a year.
For sales professionals in the QSR space, the application of AI for Sales is moving fast from experimental pilots to live, transaction-influencing systems. The same data logic that powers site selection-tracking movement, wealth, and behavior patterns-is also feeding into how brands identify and qualify franchise leads. Meanwhile, the crossover with property decisions ties directly into AI for Real Estate & Construction, where location intelligence is reducing the guesswork that traditionally plagued expansion bets.
Why this matters for sales professionals
The IRO Sushi example shows AI already functioning as a silent upsell engine at the point of purchase-a direct parallel to what sales teams in any sector might soon face. When automated suggestions increase basket size without human input, the sales role shifts from transaction-closer to system designer and exception handler. The £13,000 annual price tag on Eatphoria's site selection tool also puts a concrete cost on data-driven decision-making that replaces gut feel with granular, daily movement tracking. For sales leaders, these are not future concepts; they are operational line items being deployed right now.
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