Owner.com has unveiled "Grader," an artificial intelligence-powered Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) specifically designed for restaurants, asserting that the technology has already driven over $1 billion in sales for its customers. Adam Guild, the founder of Owner.com, announced the launch on social media, stating, > "Introducing Grader: the world's first AI CMO for restaurants. It’s helped us drive over $1 BILLION in sales for our customers. Grader outperforms human marketing teams." This new offering aims to provide small and independent restaurants with sophisticated marketing capabilities traditionally only accessible to larger corporations.
Grader is positioned as a solution to level the playing field for small businesses, enabling them to leverage advanced technology for marketing strategies without the prohibitive costs of hiring extensive human teams. The platform is designed to optimize online presence, manage promotional campaigns, and enhance customer engagement, drawing on Owner.com's existing suite of tools for restaurant websites and online ordering. Owner.com, founded by Guild, has been focused on providing independent restaurants with digital tools to compete in a technology-driven market.
However, the introduction of Grader comes amidst legal challenges for Owner.com. In January 2026, Popmenu, a competitor in the restaurant technology space, filed a lawsuit in California Superior Court against Owner.com. The lawsuit alleges that Owner.com's "Restaurant Website Grader" tool provides "inaccurate and misleading results," specifically claiming it is designed to penalize websites using standard security protocols like Cloudflare bot protection, thereby artificially suppressing their scores. This legal dispute adds a layer of scrutiny to the performance claims made by Owner.com regarding its AI tools.
The broader restaurant industry is increasingly adopting AI solutions to enhance efficiency and customer experience. Reports indicate that a significant percentage of U.S. restaurant operators are already using or considering AI for various functions, from order taking and food preparation to business operations and marketing. Companies like Toast and Loop AI are also advancing AI-driven solutions, with Loop AI recently securing $14 million in Series A funding to expand its enterprise-grade AI platform for restaurant and retail back-office operations. This trend highlights a competitive and rapidly evolving landscape where AI is becoming a critical component for restaurant success.
