🤖 Zomato’s Refund Drama: When AI Messes With Your Butter Chicken

1. 🔥 Zomato paused its new AI-based refund policy after major backlash from restaurant partners.

2. 🤝 The system automatically split refunds 50/50 between Zomato and restaurants — without asking the latter.

3. 🍛 Restaurant owners pushed back, citing unfairness and lack of consent.

4. 📉 The drama comes amid declining profits and strategic cutbacks across Zomato's ecosyste

5. 🛑 Zomato has temporarily hit pause and promised to “listen” before relaunching

• Who: Zomato, restaurant owners, and hungry customers

• What: A controversial AI-based refund policy

• When: Rolled out recently, paused after quick backlash

• Where: Across India’s food delivery ecosystem

• Why: To speed up customer complaint resolution and split refund costs... but it backfired

Imagine this:

You're a restaurant owner. A customer complains their food arrived cold.

Not your fault — traffic, rain, maybe the delivery guy took the scenic route. 🚴‍♂️🌧️

Still, the system approves a refund without asking you, and boom — you pay half.

Feels more dystopian than delicious, right?

That’s what Zomato’s new AI-powered refund policy was doing.

And restaurant partners? Well, they were not hungry for this kind of innovation. 😤

• Refund requests go through an AI system (instead of human review).

• If approved, the refund cost is split 50/50 between Zomato and the restaurant.

• Goal: Faster complaint resolution, happier customers.

💬 Zomato’s logic: “Unresolved complaints = lost customers = lost revenue.”

So why not automate and share the burden?

• ❌ No opt-in or choice — Refunds were approved without restaurant consent.

• ❌ Unfair cost-sharing — Restaurants had to pay even when the issue wasn’t their fault.

• ❌ Loss of agency — They previously had the right to accept or reject refunds.

A cloud kitchen owner nailed the sentiment:

“If it’s the delivery guy’s delay, why should we be penalized?”

This isn’t just a one-off misstep. Zomato’s kitchen is full of boiling pots:

• 🔻 Parent company Eternal saw a 77.8% profit drop in Q4 FY25.

• ❌ 19,000+ restaurants delisted recently.

• 🚫 Shuttered two services: Zomato Everyday and Quick Delivery.

• ⚖️ Facing legal heat from restaurant associations + under competition investigation.

This refund mess? Just another garnish on a dish already undercooked.

After the backlash exploded like a pressure cooker, Zomato quickly sent a follow-up email:

Translation: “We didn’t expect this many angry chefs. Give us a sec.” 🍳

Ingredients:

• 1 part unchecked AI policy

• 2 tablespoons of zero restaurant input

• A pinch of financial stress

• A dollop of corporate buzzwords

Result:

A full-blown revolt from restaurant owners 🧨

Want to stay ahead of messy tech roll outs, avoid losing trust, or make smarter moves in business?

Here’s your actionable playbook:

✅ If you're in tech:

• Don’t launch AI-driven processes without testing real-world edge cases.

• Get user feedback before launch — not after your inbox explodes.

✅ If you're a business owner:

• Always negotiate terms that involve financial liability. Don’t let automation eat your margins.

• Join industry bodies (like NRAI) to have a voice when platforms try unilateral changes.

✅ If you're a product manager:

• Human-centered design > speed. Build systems that respect choice and context.

• Never automate decisions involving money without opt-in transparency.

✅ If you're just an interested reader:

• Understand how tech decisions affect real-world livelihoods.

• Stay curious, ask questions — don’t assume AI is always neutral or fair.

How Think Ahead With AI (TAWAI) Sees the Way Ahead — and Why It Starts with the Young Global Leaders Lab 🌍🤖

At Think Ahead With AI, we believe the future isn't just about building smarter technology — it's about nurturing smarter, more ethical, and globally conscious leaders who will shape how that technology serves humanity.

That’s why we’re launching the Young Global Leaders Lab — a bold new initiative to equip the next generation with the tools, mindset, and AI fluency needed to lead in a world defined by intelligent systems.

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This lab isn't about coding alone — it's about courageous thinking, cross-cultural collaboration, and values-driven leadership in the age of AI.

The future doesn’t wait.

So we’re not waiting either.

We’re starting with the leaders who’ll shape what comes next.

1. OrderAI – AI-Powered Phone & Text Ordering

OrderAI streamlines the ordering process by enabling customers to place orders via phone or SMS. It integrates seamlessly with major POS systems, ensuring accurate order processing and efficient customer engagement.

Key Features:

• AI-driven phone and text ordering

• Real-time menu synchronization

• SMS-based remarketing campaigns

2. Inpulse.ai – Inventory & Supplier Order Optimization

Inpulse.ai leverages AI to optimize inventory management and supplier orders, helping restaurants reduce food costs and minimize waste. It provides accurate sales forecasts and automates order management.

Key Features:

• Sales forecasting at multiple levels

• Automated supplier order management

• Integration with POS systems like Lightspeed

3. Zack AI by Deliverect – Unified Order Management Dashboard

Zack AI offers a centralized dashboard to manage online orders from various platforms. It ensures consistent menu synchronization across delivery services and provides analytics to optimize operations.

Key Features:

• Centralized order management

• AI-based menu and order synchronization

• Order volume analytics and trend prediction.

4. Brilo AI – AI-Powered Voice Assistant for Order Taking

Brilo AI enhances customer interactions by providing an AI-powered voice assistant for order taking. It integrates with POS systems and offers advanced analytics to improve service quality.

Key Features:

• AI-driven voice ordering system

• Automated phone agents for 24/7 customer handling

• Advanced call analytics and sentiment analysis.

5. TouchBistro Voice Ordering – Voice-Activated Customer Ordering

TouchBistro's voice ordering system allows customers to place orders using their voice, reducing errors and speeding up the ordering process. It integrates with existing POS systems for seamless operations.

Key Features:

• Voice-based ordering for a hands-free experience

• Integration with existing POS systems

• Reduction in order errors and improved efficiency

1. Aviz to Accelerate AI Networking with ONES and NVIDIA Spectrum-X

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3. JFrog Unveils Secure AI Model Delivery Accelerated by NVIDIA NIM Microservices

4. Microsoft Dragon Copilot provides the healthcare industry’s first unified voice AI assistant that enables clinicians to streamline clinical documentation, surface information and automate tasks

5. DeepSeek R1 7B and 14B Distilled Models Available on Microsoft Copilot+ PCs

Join Our Elite Community For Comprehensive AI Mastery

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Sanjukta Chakrabortty
Gen. AI Explorer