Ovation Launches AI-Powered Tool to Enhance Restaurant Operations

Ovation, a platform focused on enhancing guest experiences for multi-unit restaurants, has introduced Goals, a tool powered by artificial intelligence aimed at facilitating operational improvements. Renee Curtis, senior product manager at Ovation, explained that Goals performs analysis for brands by providing insights into the situation at their locations and suggesting solutions to problems.

“Feedback solutions often inundate restaurants with more data than they can effectively manage,” Curtis stated in a press release. “Goals eliminates the uncertainty inherent in managing guest feedback by automatically establishing priorities and monitoring progress. This tool not only highlights what is happening at your locations but also offers clear guidance on what actions to take.”

Goals was developed to help restaurants overcome the difficulties of converting data into practical actions. Many feedback systems produce vast amounts of data, yet restaurant leaders frequently find it challenging to determine how to respond to that information. Furthermore, sharing insights across numerous locations can be problematic—critical information may be lost during communication between corporate and individual stores. This lack of communication can result in accountability issues, leaving stores unclear on necessary improvements, while corporate offices struggle to monitor progress, noted Curtis.

Here’s how Goals operates:

• AI-driven analysis: Goals examines both public and private feedback from each location to pinpoint key guest experience issues, such as “order accuracy” or “taste.”
• Automated goal setting: Once an issue is recognized, Goals establishes specific targets, such as aiming to decrease cold food complaints by 8% within the next month.
• Action item assignment: Restaurant leaders can delegate actionable tasks to managers or staff, such as ensuring all to-go orders include extra utensils.
• Performance tracking: Real-time monitoring allows brands to determine whether a location is on track to achieve its goals or requires adjustments.
• Continuous improvement: After the tracking period concludes, Goals offers a performance review and suggests new goals based on the most recent feedback.