In today’s episode of The Restaurant Report, host Paul Barron chats with Rajat Suri, chief executive officer of Presto about the future of where technology is going in foodservice.

Suri, an engineer by training, confounded Lyft and developed Presto while at M.I.T. in 2008. Presto over the years started building out a suite of products in three major areas, touch, vision, and voice which are all different ways of translating a physical action or physical event to digital data. Presto Voice is a human-like AI voice, an assistant to help manage labor shortage. Presto Vision, a smart AI-driven analytics to optimize your everyday restaurant operations, and Presto Touch, a guest facing technology.

Barron asks Suri if off-premise including drive-thru, pick-up and curbside, how it is today is the new normal, he says, he thinks off-premise is underpriced and will see a higher cost over the next few years. As companies like Uber Eats and DoorDash costs go up and you will see a decline in the off-premise business. Suri says, “I think drive-thrus are going to do gangbusters everywhere, I don’t know if the world of people going back into dining rooms of restaurants that’s going to come all the way back because I think people have realized that drive-thrus are very convenient a lot of people are more addicted to that channel. The future looks very good.”

Barron talks to Suri about what would be the technology that would immediately draw people back into the drive-thrus, Suri says, I think the drive-thru is set for a rocket transformation due to technology. Presto is working on a drive-thru experience where you can literally drive in and you don’t need to order or pay, you just pick up food. Presto’s computer vision cameras can recognize the person ordering, have your food order ready for you and send you a text message to confirm you are getting the same thing or if you would like to add or change your order. Suri adds that this can speed up the drive-thru process and make it a better experience.

Labor is getting more expensive and technology is getting less expensive, Suri says. He adds, automation is the strongest it’s ever been today but it’s going to look like nothing compared to five to ten years from now.

To hear more from Suri about innovation, the future of technology in foodservice, and virtual staff members, check out this episode of The Restaurant Report on Spotify.