Papa John’s International is making a strategic push into artificial intelligence (AI) by expanding its partnership with Google Cloud, aiming to revolutionize how customers order pizza.
Papa John’s, which reported annual restaurant sales of $4.85 billion (down 3.1 percent) in 2024, is using Google Cloud’s AI to enhance customer support, personalize experiences, and optimize operations. Using Google BigQuery, Vertex AI, and Gemini, the company will proactively suggest orders through push notifications or emails based on customer preferences and anticipated needs for events like birthdays or sports gatherings.
By applying Google’s generative AI models, Papa John’s will optimize loyalty program rewards and dynamically personalize the app and website experience, offering unique discounts, ads, and benefits tailored to individual users.
AI will also predict ordering patterns to provide relevant promotions and ordering shortcuts, while AI-driven marketing campaigns will deliver personalized offers and content. An AI-powered chatbot will handle common customer inquiries, escalating complex issues to live agents, and AI-driven voice ordering will enhance app convenience.
To improve restaurant operations, Papa John’s, which posted operating income of $156.7 million for 2024, will implement a Google Cloud-based point-of-sale system, enabling AI-driven dispatching, route optimization, and automation of key processes.
The initiative will leverage AI to deliver a more personalized experience across multiple customer touchpoints, including push notifications, marketing emails, and loyalty program rewards. Additionally, the company plans to introduce an online chatbot and enable ordering through virtual assistants, streamlining the digital ordering process, Reuters news report said.
The announcement positions Papa John’s among the growing number of fast-food chains integrating AI to enhance sales, customer service, and operational efficiency. According to Kevin Vasconi, the company’s chief digital officer, the latest advancements in AI technology provide new capabilities in scalability, security, and cost management that were not feasible just a few years ago.
While leveraging customer data for personalized marketing is not a novel approach in the restaurant industry, Papa John’s acknowledges that it has lagged behind in some areas. However, CEO Todd Penegor sees this as an opportunity to catch up and reestablish the company’s technological leadership. Notably, Papa John’s was the first national pizza chain to offer online ordering to all U.S. customers in 2001.
Penegor brings experience in AI-driven innovation from his tenure as CEO of Wendy’s, where he led a similar collaboration with Google Cloud to implement AI technology in drive-through operations. To spearhead Papa John’s AI transformation, he recruited Kevin Vasconi, his former chief technology officer at Wendy’s, who also played a key role in modernizing Domino’s Pizza’s technology infrastructure between 2012 and 2020.
Looking ahead, Papa John’s plans to extend AI applications beyond customer engagement to in-store operations. Future AI-driven initiatives may include optimizing delivery routes and automating inventory management, further enhancing efficiency and service quality. By integrating AI across its operations, Papa John’s aims to create a seamless and intelligent customer experience while improving operational effectiveness in an increasingly competitive market.
Baburajan Kizhakedath
