Restaurants have been serving up fake food ads for decades—AI slop is just the latest special
Fortune 4 ● 4 sources
Restaurants have been using AI-generated images in ads to look photorealistic even when the depicted food was never photographed, prompting viral backlash in cities like New York. One example cited is a Grind & Unwind menu sign in San Francisco that used AI food images when it opened in May. The backlash is sharpening scrutiny of when ads become deceptive, with new attention to whether the AI picture matches the actual food customers receive.