What Happens When AI Thinks Like a Restaurant Operator? Toast IQ Is Showing Us.

Jehad Affoneh, Chief Design Officer at Toast, is one of the creative minds behind Toast IQ, the company’s new conversational AI assistant that helps restaurants turn data into action. From identifying top-performing menu items to providing insights across sales and labor, Toast IQ helps give operators the clarity to run smarter, more efficient businesses.

Watch now to learn about turning data into action, designing for humans, and how AI is reshaping restaurants.

Disclaimer: Restaurant Influencers host Shawn Walchef is a paid consultant and content creator for Toast.

Sponsored by:

• TOAST AllIn1 Restaurant POS

Chapters:

[03:18] - What a Chief Design Officer Really Does

[15:42] - Introducing Toast IQ

[19:33] - How AI Can Think Like a Restaurant Operator

[23:58] - Real Stories of Toast IQ in Action

[30:10] - Building Trust Between AI and Operators

SPONSORS:

RESTAURANT INFLUENCERS IS PRESENTED BY TOAST —

Restaurant Influencers is brought to you by Toast, the powerful restaurant point of sale and management system that helps restaurants improve operations, increase sales and create a better guest experience.

• Toast AllIn1 Restaurant POS

Episode Links:

Jehad Affoneh LinkedIn

Meet Jehad Affoneh

Toast IQ News Article:

Key Takeaways:

Designing for the Human Behind the Counter: Jehad Affoneh believes restaurant technology should feel as natural as conversation. His approach to Toast IQ centers on empathy, designing tools that think like operators and offering tailored, proactive recommendations and actionable insights from the data.

Turning Data Into Action: Toast IQ helps restaurant owners make faster, smarter decisions by surfacing insights in real time. By leveraging a customer’s daily transactions and data points, Toast IQ can transform raw numbers into meaningful guidance operators can actually use.

AI That Understands Restaurants: By grounding every feature in real operator feedback or personalization, ToastIQ stands apart from generic AI assistants. It’s built to anticipate needs, build trust, and give restaurant owners something priceless: more time for the people and moments that matter.

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ABOUT JEHAD AFFONEH —

Jehad Affoneh is the Chief Design Officer at Toast, where he leads the design, user research, and customer experience platform teams. He joined the company in 2022 as Toast’s first Chief Design Officer and has played a key role in shaping the way operators interact with technology. A lifelong advocate for human-centered design, he believes technology should simplify life for both users and businesses. Affoneh lives in the Bay Area with his family.

ABOUT RESTAURANT INFLUENCERS —

Restaurant Influencers is a weekly video podcast series presented by Entrepreneur Media and Cali BBQ Media. Every week host and restaurant owner Shawn Walchef (@shawnpwalchef) talks with business leaders like Shaquille O’Neal, Rob Dyrdek, Emeril Lagasse, Mayim Bialik, Jon Taffer, Robert Irvine, Toast CEO and Co-Founder Aman Narang, and more, about their secrets to Smartphone Storytelling, marketing, branding, and how to show up where customers are engaging online.

Published by Entrepreneur Media

Produced by Cali BBQ Media