No flashy robots, just a quiet transformation: How Singapore’s food and retail sectors are using AI

Singapore's AI adoption in food and retail focuses on operational efficiency, not flashy robots. The Lo & Behold Group's Fico restaurant now maximizes table bookings using an AI tool built with Anthropic's Claude Code. This strategy frees human staff for front-of-house customer interactions. It shows a pragmatic approach to AI integration, prioritizing immediate business benefits over speculative applications.

This points to a clear path for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Southeast Asia. They can deploy off-the-shelf or custom AI to solve specific pain points like inventory or rostering. The test for Singapore's Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) is whether these early wins scale beyond high-end restaurants. Broader adoption will require accessible tools and clear ROI for smaller operators.

The thing to watch is how quickly these localized AI solutions become standardized. If tools like Fico's reservation optimizer can be productized, they could offer a competitive edge to other Singaporean F&B groups. This would accelerate AI adoption beyond early movers, especially if the cost remains low.