Restaurant customer consults ChatGPT instead of server when ordering food: 'Does something as trivial as ordering really require AI?'

Author image for Ally Perry
Ally Perry • Writer and Editor
Aug 6, 2026 3:45 PM EDT

How difficult is it to make an everyday decision without consulting AI?

We aren't talking about the big, scary life changes here, like a drastic career switch or having kids. This is the kind of stuff that most people wouldn't even have thought twice about dealing with themselves as recently as a couple of years ago, but that they now delight in delegating to a machine. Human beings are estimated to make tens of thousands of decisions per day, but AI dependency seems to be greatly reducing that number.  

While there are undeniably times in our lives where having to use our brains can feel like too much, that shouldn't be the case for our low-stakes, day-to-day thoughts, unless we genuinely have some kind of problem. Maybe we can even go as far as saying that making our own choices can be fun and engaging! We are doing what we are supposed to be doing, and that is basic mental maintenance as well as enrichment. Delegating that to a computer and expecting things to be easier as a result is only rotting our brains faster, and it is common knowledge that this is the last thing that we need help with these days.

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    A woman looking at a menu while sitting at a restaurant table with somebody doing the same opposite to her
    via Yunus Tuğ (Unsplash+)

    A woman looking at a menu while sitting at a restaurant table with somebody doing the same opposite to her

  • A server was horrified to serve a customer in their restaurant recently who had been looking at his phone as he ordered. When they walked away, they overheard him saying that he had consulted ChatGPT to choose from the menu what he wanted to eat instead of making the decision himself.

    When they shared this experience with other hospitality staff, they were met with countless other stories of people who preferred to ask AI about the best thing to order instead of the trained employee who was right in front of them. If nothing else, what is the problem in enjoying the surprise of picking something unexpected now and then?

  • 02

    A customer ordered from our menu using ChatGPT

    A guy had his phone out while looking at our menu which is typical. Some customers like to look at Yelp pictures of an item before ordering it. While taking him and his wife's order, I noticed it wasn't Yelp but some sort of messaging app.
    via Mobile_Nobody0326
  • 03
    Then, while walking away to put it in their order, I hear him proudly say to his wife: "ChatGPT says that's the best one!" ??????
    via Mobile_Nobody0326
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    Does ChatGPT know your favorite flavors? Did ChatGPT taste it for you?? Does something as trivial as ordering really require Al? -_- Best part was it didn't even seem like he enjoyed the food in particular. He was just kinda poking at it the entire time, didn't finish it either. So embarrassing.
    via Mobile_Nobody0326
  • 05
    A diner sits at a table in a restaurant, looking at his phone
    via Yunus Tuğ (Unsplash+)

    A diner sits at a table in a restaurant, looking at his phone

  • 06
    TremerSwurk I work at a japanese restaurant and a staggering amount of my guests just take pictures of the menu and ask chat gpt to make an order for them, they'll literally show me their phone screen with the order from chat gpt and ask me to just write it down and put it
    via TremerSwurk
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    in. Very weird to me because like 50% of my job is supposed to be explaining the menu to people and recommending things but it feels like some folks are genuinely too socially awkward to just engage in two minutes of conversation with me about their questions and preferences.
    via TremerSwurk
  • 08
    GingerShamrock14 I had a situation like this last year, with a customer with celiac disease - she asked me to check the bottle of a niche liqeur that was in the cocktail she was thinking of ordering. I go check it & the bottle looks safe/ingredients look to contain no gluten, so I'm prepared to tell her as such. I do, and she says "Oh, no worries! I asked Chat, and
    via GingerShamrock14
  • 09
    Chat says it's fine!!!" So she ordered it. Thankfully I/”Chat" was right, so no adverse reaction occurred, but I was still floored. Imagine trusting a robot (that's often wrong!) about what's safe to potentially ingest when you have an actual disease, when it being wrong could be a disaster for you!! People are nuts.
    via GingerShamrock14
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    Local-Hurry4835 The machines aren't becoming more human, the humans are becoming machine.
    via Local-Hurry4835
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    notyOuagain The other day I was at a table, asking if they had any questions about the menu. They go "no!" I'm still at the table topping up waters, the girl has her phone out and says "Chat says we should get
    via noty0uagain
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    Like sorry what??? You don't have any questions you want to ask your server but you'd rather ask ChatGPT??? Honestly scary
    via noty0uagain
  • 13
    Pure-Purpose9248 i had someone last week do this. except, chatgpt recommended a dish we do not serve. the guy just would not believe me for a good minute since "chat gpt says you have it!"
    via Pure-Purpose9248
  • 14
    tanksandthefunkybun I once had someone use ChatGPT to order an Aperol spritz which might be the most embarrassing thing I've ever seen another human do
    via tanksandthefunkybun
  • 15
    IndividualSlip2275 I've had a customer argue with me that ChatGPT said we take a discount. They think they have whereas we don't take any discounts, but they assured me that ChatGPT wouldn't say it was a
    via IndividualSlip2275
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    thing if it wasn't true. And I was like, sir that's great that the Al program told you something but we don't even have a button for discounts in our computer system.
    via IndividualSlip2275
  • 17
    igiveupwithusernames As a somm it's soooo bad when it comes to ordering wine. Had ChatGPT spit out a bottle name that literally doesn't exist and we had to argue with this guy that we couldn't sell him his fake wine even if we wanted to
    via igiveupwithusernames
  • 18
    LoveBateman Yup. Had this happen the other day too... Took a picture of the menu and asked it what was the healthiest option. Luckily, all of his friends made fun of him so at least there's hope for them.
    via LoveBateman

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chatGPT restaurant server life artificial intelligence
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