Here's what tech companies will be talking about at the National Restaurant Show

Technology is one of the main attractions at the National Restaurant Association Show every year, and this year will be no different.

But tech moves fast, and the conversation is changing. Robots were all the rage two years ago; now AI is the hot new thing. Operators were once iffy on kiosks, but today they're the toast of the industry.

It's a lot to keep track of. That's why we've collected four tech trends to look for while you walk the floor in Chicago this weekend. And don't worry, there will still be robots.

The Show starts Saturday and runs through Tuesday at McCormick Place convention center in Chicago.

Artificial intelligence will likely be the hottest tech topic at this year’s Show. It is the subject of at least five education sessions and will be a talking point for countless vendors, who are using AI to help restaurants answer the phone, write marketing copy, create schedules, pay invoices and more.

It comes as restaurants are trying to operate more efficiently to offset higher food and labor costs. (To learn more about how AI could help, check out our primer.)

Highlights: In March, back-of-house tech provider Fourth injected AI into its scheduling and inventory systems to help operators better forecast their labor and product needs. It’s also using AI to optimize job postings. Fourth calls the new technology a “game-changer.” 

And on the front end, tech giant Toast has a new AI tool that can create promotional emails for restaurants using a few simple prompts. It’s part of Toast’s new Marketing Suite.

Self-service ordering machines have been getting a lot of buzz lately as a way to ease restaurants’ labor woes, especially in California, where the fast-food minimum wage just rose 25%.

This year’s show will feature many of the big names in kiosks, including Grubbrr and Bite, which recently raised $9 million to fuel its growth. But there are also some new players in the space, including big tech supplier Square. It’s a testament to how hot kiosks have become.

Highlight: Square’s kiosk is fully integrated, meaning it comes with hardware, software and payments built in. It works with the rest of Square’s restaurant tech family and was designed with quick-service concepts in mind. It goes on sale this summer, but operators can get a sneak peek at the Show.

More tech companies are looking to offer restaurants many features in a single package, or “platform.”

These multi-layered systems give restaurants the ease of working with one vendor, and restaurants get a better view of their customers because data is able to flow more freely through the system. 

There’s been a lot of activity on this front ahead of the Show. BentoBox, Checkmate, Chowly and Toast have all unveiled self-contained tech systems that invite restaurants to plug and play. 

Highlight: The Show marks a milestone for Checkmate as it looks to establish itself as more than a one-trick pony. The company was founded on software that helps restaurants integrate incoming third-party orders. But it has evolved into an all-around digital ordering provider with a range of products, and has a new name and look to go along with it

Though the enthusiasm about restaurant robots has died down a bit, thanks in part to the rapid rise of AI, there will still be plenty of bots at the Show.

The most prominent will be the veteran Bear Robotics, which will have by far the biggest booth in the Tech Pavilion this year. Bear, which makes server robots, landed a $60 million strategic investment from electronics giant LG in March.

Highlight: If you want to get a look at some up-and-coming bots, make your way to the Kitchen Innovation area in the back of the South Hall. This is where the winners of the Show’s annual KI Awards are staged, and there were a number of robots recognized this year. They include Aniai’s Alpha Grill burger robot; a machine that seasons and packages fries from Atosa; a pizza bot from Lab2Fab; and I-Robo, the automated stir-fry specialist from Techmagic Inc.