AI slop is coming to a menu near you

Some restaurants are betting that nothing gets the stomach growling quite like a Reuben that appears to violate the laws of physics.

Restaurants and delis are increasingly using AI-generated food images on menus and signs, resulting in weird-looking pictures like perfectly circular shrimp and sandwiches with bizarre ingredients.

Why AI is on the menu

Generative AI is cheap, quick, and easy, making it an especially attractive option for small restaurants that often operate on tight margins. Asking ChatGPT or Gemini to generate images is much more affordable than hiring someone to photograph and design an entire menu.

At Chicago's Chi-Town Deli, for example, a recently viral menu filled with bizarre AI sandwiches was created by an employee as a temporary placeholder while the restaurant waited for new signage featuring real photos.

Your stomach might not mind. AI food pics might actually be pretty good at making us hungry—as long as we don't realize they're fake. That’s according to a 2024 study which compared people's reactions to real and AI-generated food images.

When participants weren't told which was which, they rated the AI-generated food as more appetizing than the real photographs. But once the images' origins were disclosed, that advantage disappeared.