THE food service industry in China is seen adopting artificial intelligence (AI) as its new operating partner.
When Yin Dajiang, a 46-years-old breakfast shop operator in Beijing’s Chaoyang district, began planning to expand, site selection and menu positioning were familiar challenges that traditionally required weeks of manual scouting.
But after trying an AI decision-making tool powered by the LongCat model, he said the entire process became “unprecedentedly clear and efficient.”
This newly released AI foundation model, developed by China’s on-demand food-delivery giant Meituan, is seen by industry insiders as part of a broader trend that could reshape operational efficiency across the sector.
Yin’s experience mirrors a powerful shift under way in China’s restaurant and food-service system: AI no longer serves merely as a digital aid but is becoming a proactive decision-making tool that shapes site selection, menu development, supply chain integration and consumer operations.
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Recently, as industries accelerate their exploration of AI applications, the use of AI tools to further improve operational efficiency has become a major topic of discussion across China’s restaurant sector.
New capable partner
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Kangaroo Advisor, the AI-powered decision-making tool for restaurant operators, was launched on Oct. 16.
Utilizing the on-demand food-delivery giant’s self-developed LongCat model, the tool covers the full span of daily operations, including market analysis, site selection, menu development and financial assessment, a representative for Meituan told the Global Times.
“More than 1,000 restaurant brands and neighborhood shops have already taken part in the trial, generating over 100,000 reports so far,” he said.
Industry insiders said the new model is not as a tool but as a “co-operator” for chain restaurants, franchise groups and delivery platforms. Instead of manually comparing thousands of data points from fragmented sources, operators can now describe their needs in natural language.
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Recent months have also seen major restaurant groups and delivery-chain enterprises accelerate the AI adoption.
AI integration is not limited to chain operators. Platforms are also embedding generative models into consumer-facing interactions.
Chinese hotpot chain Haidilao said at the industry forum Chinashop 2025 in May that it had been introducing AI tools since last year to enhance consumer experience.
“At Haidilao, similar personalized recommendations are possible. If someone into fitness wants vegetable-based dishes, these queries require detailed knowledge from the staff. What we do is filter all dishes and tag them so AI can recommend intelligently. Providing better services requires understanding user tags,” said Yang Xuanzhi, the brand’s deputy general manager of information technology.
