This AI Tool for Restaurant Owners Is Giving ‘Hours’ of Time Back
The tool was built to adapt to the everyday rhythm of restaurant life.
Most restaurant owners dream of finding more hours in the day. Jehad Affoneh wants to give them back.
As chief design officer at Toast, Affoneh leads the team behind Toast IQ, a new AI-powered conversational assistant that helps operators make faster, smarter decisions about their business. Whether it’s forecasting sales, updating menus or spotting trends, Toast IQ transforms the blur of data into instant clarity.
When Affoneh first joined Toast, he made it a priority to talk directly with restaurant owners before writing a single line of product strategy. What stood out most wasn’t just how they used technology, but how much they cared about the small details that shape a day’s success, like weather, local events or opening the patio. Those early conversations shaped the way he and his team designed Toast IQ, grounding every feature in the real rhythm of restaurant life.
The goal, Affoneh says, is simple: make technology feel human. “Design is the rendering of intent,” he tells Restaurant Influencers host Shawn Walchef. “We want Toast IQ to understand what you mean before you even finish typing.”
That intent shows up everywhere. Toast IQ can surface insights automatically, like pointing out which menu items are underperforming or which team member is quietly becoming a sales leader. It’s less about fancy AI tricks and more about everyday decisions that make or break a shift.
I saw it firsthand at my own restaurant, Cali BBQ, when Toast IQ helped me decide whether to open early for football season or not. Instead of digging through spreadsheets, I asked the tool for sales and labor data from the previous year. Within seconds, I had an answer that would have taken hours to calculate.
Another operator used Toast IQ to completely overhaul their menu. They asked what was working, what wasn’t and how to improve descriptions that weren’t landing with guests. “I did in an hour what would’ve taken me days,” they told the Toast team.
For Affoneh, that’s exactly the point. Every minute saved is a minute that can be reinvested into the business or back into life outside it.
“One customer told us Toast IQ gives him back hours in his week,” Affoneh said. “That’s time he spends with his four-year-old instead of being buried in reports.”
In an industry built on long hours and tight margins, that kind of change isn’t just operational. It’s personal.
The future of restaurant intelligence
Artificial intelligence isn’t new. Everyone from software startups to search engines claims to have the next big breakthrough. What separates Toast IQ is that it isn’t trying to replace restaurant operators. It’s built to think like one.
Affoneh says the team at Toast designed AI that understands the pace and pressure of a kitchen. It doesn’t flood you with data. “Restaurants aren’t anti-tech,” he says. “They’re just complexity-intolerant. Our job is to make technology invisible.”
That mindset shapes how Toast approaches AI. Instead of a generic chatbot that spits out numbers, Toast IQ connects every part of the ecosystem, including sales, labor, marketing and benchmarking, so the answers actually mean something.
Ask about last week’s performance, and it can show how weather, local events or regional trends may have played a role. It can even suggest follow-up questions you might not have thought to ask.
Trust is another pillar. Operators need to know that when AI gives them advice, the data behind it is solid. That’s why Toast IQ shows where numbers come from and invites direct feedback. “If we get the first answer right,” Affoneh explains, “operators start to trust it like a partner.”
That partnership is what excites him most about the future. Toast IQ isn’t about novelty. It’s about practicality. He imagines a world where running a restaurant feels as natural as having a conversation with someone who already knows your business inside out.
“Restaurant operators are some of the most passionate, hardworking people you’ll ever meet,” Affoneh says. “Our goal is to give them the support they need to be successful and the joy that comes from doing what they love.”
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Disclaimer: Restaurant Influencers host Shawn Walchef is a paid consultant and content creator for Toast.