The Effect of Artificial Intelligence on Consumers' Food Preferences and Their Perceptions of Technology Acceptance Levels
Artificial intelligence has evolved beyond being merely a phenomenon limited to the development of technological systems; it has become one of the key factors transforming individuals’ daily practices, consumption behaviors, decision-making processes, and perceptions of products and services. The accelerating pace of digitalization, the widespread adoption of big data analytics, the advancement of machine learning algorithms, the integration of personalized recommendation systems into daily life, and consumers’ increasingly frequent interactions with digital platforms are making the role of artificial intelligence—particularly in the food and beverage sector—increasingly visible. This book, titled “The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Consumers’ Perceptions of Food Preferences and Technology Acceptance Levels,” comprehensively examines the relationship between artificial intelligence technologies and consumer behavior through key concepts such as food preferences, technology acceptance, perceived benefit, ease of use, trust, attitude, behavioral intention, and consumer experience. The study’s central premise is that artificial intelligence is not merely a technology that enhances operational efficiency for businesses; it is also a multidimensional structure that influences consumers’ decisions regarding what to eat, which products to purchase, which businesses to prefer, and the extent to which they trust technological systems. Today, consumers encounter a wide range of AI-powered applications, including online food ordering platforms, personalized menu recommendations, smart kitchen apps, digital nutrition advisors, AI-based product recommendation systems, chatbots, voice assistants, image processing systems, robotic restaurant applications, smart cash registers, and algorithmic pricing. While these systems simplify consumers’ decision-making processes, they also raise new areas of debate regarding data security, privacy, algorithmic transparency, ethics, reliability, and the future of the human factor. In this book, the consumer’s relationship with technology is not evaluated solely as a technical usage behavior; rather, it is examined through its cognitive, emotional, social, cultural, and behavioral dimensions. For artificial intelligence systems to be accepted by consumers, it is not enough for the technology to be functionally successful on its own. It is also crucial that consumers find the system useful, perceive its use as easy, trust the technology, understand the benefits they will gain, and not lose a sense of control during the usage process. For this reason, the study provides a detailed evaluation of the relationships that can be established between the key variables of technology acceptance models and consumers’ food preference behaviors. The book examines the impact of artificial intelligence on food consumption behaviors from both academic and industry perspectives. The ability of AI-powered recommendation algorithms to offer consumers personalized options based on individual taste preferences, past purchasing behavior, dietary preferences, price sensitivity, health expectations, and sustainability trends is leading to consumption decisions becoming increasingly data-driven. Consequently, in the gastronomy and food systems of the future, it will be important not only “what consumers consume” but also “what algorithms recommend to them” and “why they trust these recommendations.” Another key focus of this study is the relationships between perceived ease of use, perceived benefit, trust, attitude, and behavioral intention. If a technology is perceived by the user as easy to use, this can foster the development of positive attitudes toward the technology. Similarly, AI applications can increase perceived benefit by saving the consumer time, simplifying the decision-making process, offering personalized recommendations, and enhancing the user experience. The strengthening of perceived benefit is considered one of the key factors that can influence trust in the technological system and the intention to use it in the future. The concept of trust is a critical variable in AI-based food and gastronomy applications. Consumers’ lack of full understanding of how the algorithm makes decisions, concerns regarding the processing of personal data, erroneous recommendations, biased algorithms, or fears that systems might replace human decision-making can negatively impact technology acceptance. Conversely, AI applications that are reliable, transparent, explainable, and user-centered are expected to increase consumer acceptance. Accordingly, the book evaluates trust not only in terms of technical reliability but also in terms of ethics, privacy, transparency, and the consumer’s sense of control. The impact of artificial intelligence on consumers’ food preferences is particularly significant in the context of personalization. Systems that learn from individuals’ past behaviors can predict which meals consumers might prefer, which products they are more likely to purchase, or which alternatives align more closely with consumer expectations. Consequently, while the decision-making burden on consumers is reduced, businesses gain opportunities for cross-selling, customer loyalty, personalized marketing, and demand forecasting. However, the power of algorithms to influence consumer preferences also sparks debates regarding free choice, manipulation, and ethical responsibility. The book also highlights the relationship between artificial intelligence and sustainable gastronomy. Applications such as AI-powered demand forecasting, inventory optimization, food waste reduction, production planning, sustainable supply chain management, and recommending products with a lower environmental impact to consumers demonstrate AI’s potential to contribute to sustainable food systems. However, the book emphasizes that issues such as the high energy consumption of these technologies, the environmental impacts of data centers, and dependence on digital infrastructure must not be excluded from sustainability discussions. The book also evaluates the potential effects of demographic and psychographic characteristics—such as age, education level, income, digital literacy, technology experience, and individual innovativeness—on perceptions of AI applications within the context of consumer behavior. Based on the fact that not all consumer groups perceive technology in the same way, the book highlights the necessity of considering user heterogeneity in the design of AI applications. The book is significant in that it addresses technology acceptance and food preferences within the same conceptual framework. Thus, it discusses how consumer attitudes toward AI applications may influence not only the intention to use the technology but also food selection, product evaluation, brand preferences, purchasing behavior, and gastronomic experiences. The academic contribution of this study lies in its integration of the literatures on technology acceptance, consumer behavior, and gastronomy into a common research domain. From an industry perspective, it offers important insights for the development of consumer-focused AI applications for restaurant operators, food producers, retailers, digital food platforms, tourism and hospitality businesses, and gastronomy entrepreneurs. In conclusion, this book demonstrates that the increasingly significant role of artificial intelligence in shaping food preferences cannot be explained solely through the concept of technological innovation. Establishing a successful relationship between artificial intelligence and the consumer requires the joint evaluation of numerous factors, such as benefit, ease of use, trust, ethics, transparency, privacy, and user experience. In the food and gastronomy systems of the future, maintaining a balance between technology and humans, ensuring that artificial intelligence is used in ways that enhance consumer well-being, and safeguarding the consumer’s freedom to make decisions must be among the top priorities. In this regard, this work serves as a theoretical and practical reference source for researchers, academics, graduate students, and industry professionals working in the fields of gastronomy, consumer behavior, marketing, tourism, food science, management, artificial intelligence, and technology acceptance. This work aims to evaluate the aforementioned transformation from both positive and critical perspectives; it highlights not only the opportunities offered by artificial intelligence in the gastronomy and food sectors but also the ethical, social, and managerial responsibilities it entails. The book is intended to generate new research questions, particularly for academics and graduate researchers working in the fields of gastronomy, tourism, marketing, consumer behavior, and technology management; for industry representatives, it aims to contribute to the consumer-centered design of artificial intelligence applications. This work is presented to readers with the hope that it will contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between technology and human behavior and help shape the digital future of gastronomy from a human-centered perspective.