AI ‘slop’ is dominating menus, as some restaurant owners turn to it to save

From cartoonish-looking sandwiches to doughnut-shaped shrimp, AI might be on the menu at your local fast-food restaurant.

Diners have taken to the internet to share photos of sandwich boards and window displays bearing food they say looks rubbery, surreal and seems to be created with artificial intelligence tools — which have made it increasingly easy to generate visuals on the cheap. 

“This looks like what aliens would put in a presentation about what Earth food is,” a Reddit user captioned in a post accompanied by a picture of a sandwich board with breaded shrimp and gyros with suspiciously geometric textures.

Others described a CNE sandwich they assumed to be AI-generated as “uncanny and nauseating” and “slop.”

And for some Toronto customers, these kinds of images aren’t just stomach-turning — they take them as a signal of the restaurant’s values.

“I feel like it’s really inauthentic and it doesn’t make me wanna go eat at your restaurant,” said Cynthia Lem. 

For her, AI-generated imagery raises questions about what the actual food would look like once it arrives, making her wary of any establishments using the technology.

While some consumers say these images are ruining their appetites and raising worries about possible misrepresentations of menu items, those in the restaurant business say it’s helped them reduce costs in a notoriously difficult industry. And marketing experts say use of the tech isn’t necessarily bad if it’s done thoughtfully.

Not all AI use created equally

Before taking a single bite, restaurant-goers rely heavily on imagery to dictate what they order, according to business consultant and Schulich School of Business marketing professor David Pullara. And that means businesses relying on heavy-handed AI imagery are taking a big risk.

“Great food photography sells,” said Pullara. “So if you’re using AI to generate an image that’s terrible, it’s going to hurt your sales, it’s going to hurt your brand.”

But while some consumers might object to the use of AI on principle, he thinks the risk of using it to enhance food photography is low if done well — especially if it can help small- and medium-sized businesses manage their costs.

Restaurant businesses face thin margins, often making it difficult to turn a profit. According to Restaurants Canada’s most recent survey of some of its members, 41 per cent said they were operating at a loss or just breaking even, with rising fuel costs only exacerbating issues.

Pullara says hiring a professional photographer is expensive, and might be out of budget for a small restaurant business. For that reason, taking a high-resolution photo of food and using an AI application to make small tweaks could create an image worthy of putting on a menu, Pullara says.

“I don’t think it’s the AI that makes the image unappealing. I think…