AI in the food industry: How consumers use AI at home

Artificial intelligence is reshaping the food and beverage industry – from how brands forecast demand and reduce waste to how consumers plan meals, discover recipes and shop for groceries. As AI-powered tools become more embedded in everyday life, the kitchen is fast becoming one of the next frontiers for experimentation.

But how comfortable are consumers with using AI for food-related decisions? Where are they most open to automation, and where do concerns still hold them back?

In this article, we explore how consumers in the US and the UK feel about using AI tools for meal planning, recipe recommendations and grocery shopping. All insights are based on proprietary Attest survey data, with a deeper dive available via our interactive dashboard interactive dashboard.

TL;DR summary

• AI adoption in food: 63.8% of consumers have used AI-powered tools for food-related activities, with the UK ahead of the US. Younger people are the most engaged.
• Recipe recommendations are most popular: Consumers are most comfortable with AI suggesting recipes. 
• Concerns over automated grocery shopping: This is the least trusted AI feature, with just under half comfortable using it. More men than women are comfortable with it.
• Key benefits of AI in food: Consumers value discovering new recipes, convenience, and saving time. 
• Biggest concerns: Data privacy and security top the list, followed by lack of human touch and over-reliance on tech.
• Surprise insight on younger consumers: 18-24s are more concerned about losing human touch than data privacy, contradicting common assumptions about their digital preferences.

AI in the food industry

AI is changing how people cook, shop and plan meals at home. Instead of just powering back-end systems, it’s now built into everyday tools that help consumers make food decisions faster and more easily.

For example, AI can suggest recipes based on the ingredients you already have, create personalized meal plans, recommend new foods to try, or generate smart grocery lists. Some tools can even automate parts of the online shopping process.

In short, AI in the food industry is increasingly about helping households save time, discover new meals and simplify day-to-day food choices.

AI adoption in food

AI adoption in food-related tasks is already firmly in the mainstream. Our data shows that 63.8% of people have used AI-powered tools for food-related activities

In an early plot twist, it looks like Brits are more clued into AI tools than Americans – 66.8% of Brits have used AI tools, compared to just 60.8% of Americans. Typically we might think that the US is slightly ahead of the UK on tech adoption, but that may not be the case. 

Unsurprisingly, we see a correlation between age and usage of AI: 74% of 18-24s have used AI. This percentage decreases for every subsequent age group. 

AI recipe recommendations are a winner

When asked how comfortable they are with AI tools helping them with a range of food tasks, recipe recommendations came out on top in both markets. 

In the US, 71.2% said they’d be comfortable with AI-recommended recipes, and 75.9% of Brits said the same. 

When we followed up by asking how likely people would be to try AI tools in the future, recipe recs came out top again:

• Recipe recommendations based on available ingredients (69.3% are likely to try this)
• Smart grocery shopping suggestions (58.9% are likely to try this)
• Personalized meal planning (58.5% are likely to try this) 

Automated online grocery shopping is the tool consumers would be least comfortable with. Just 48.7% of Americans would be comfortable with it, with 27.8% saying they’d actually be uncomfortable with it. In the UK, 49.1% would be comfortable with it and 28.7% would be uncomfortable. 

One interesting gender split appears when we dig into the people who are comfortable with automated online grocery shopping. Across both markets, males are more comfortable – 53.5% say this – compared with just 44.5% of females. 

The benefits of AI tools for food

Consumers in both the US and the UK said discovering new recipes and foods was their top benefit of using AI for food-related decisions. Just over half (50.5%) of Americans and just under half (49.2%) of Brits chose this. 

The top benefits consumer chose were:

• Discovering new recipes and foods (49.8% across both markets)
• Convenience and ease (47.7%)
• Saving time on meal planning and shopping (44.8%)

Towards the bottom of the benefit list was using AI for sticking to a healthier diet, although there are some international nuances here. In the UK, 37.5% of consumers said this would be a benefit; in the US, just 30.1% chose this. 

Data privacy is people’s biggest concern

People are most concerned about data privacy and security when it comes to AI-powered food tools. 

Nearly half (47.7% in the US and 45.8% in the UK) chose this as their top concern, showing that AI tool providers must give consumers peace of mind that their data is safe if they use their products. 

The top concerns consumers in both markets had were:

• Data privacy and security (45.8% in the UK; 47.7% in the US) 
• Lack of human touch-personalization (40.4% in the UK; 37.8% in the US)
• Over-reliance on technology (38.6% in the UK; 34.9% in the US)

Young people care most about the human touch

We found that 18-24-year-olds show more concern about the lack of human touch/personalization than other age groups. 

Common opinion would dictate that tech-savvy young people are less interested in human interaction and the personal touch, but this data contradicts that. Almost half (45.5%) of 18-24s said this concerned them, which is almost +5pp higher than any other age group. 

In fact, the 18-24s group deems the lack of human touch a bigger concern even than data privacy. This is definitely something for the AI tool companies to consider in their product development and messaging.

Conclusion

AI is already a meaningful part of how consumers manage food at home. Nearly two-thirds have used AI-powered tools for food-related tasks, with UK consumers slightly ahead of those in the US. Adoption is strongest among younger age groups, but interest spans generations.

Across both markets, consumers are most comfortable with AI supporting lower-risk, everyday decisions such as recipe recommendations and meal inspiration. Tools that help people discover new dishes, save time and make cooking more convenient clearly resonate.

At the same time, there are clear limits to trust. Automated grocery shopping is the least comfortable use case, and concerns around data privacy, over-reliance on technology and the loss of human touch remain front of mind. Notably, even younger consumers – often assumed to be the most digitally relaxed – show strong concern about losing personalization and human input.

Overall, the data shows a nuanced picture in both the US and the UK: consumers are open to AI in the kitchen, particularly when it enhances creativity and convenience, but they want reassurance, control and a human element. For brands operating in the food and beverage space, the opportunity lies in striking that balance – using AI to support household decisions without replacing the experience entirely.