Overview
- This summer dozens of physical and digital menus went viral for using cheap AI-generated food pictures that viewers call shiny, oddly textured, or outright grotesque.
- Peer-reviewed work from the University of Duisburg-Essen and psychologist statements in recent coverage find that images that look almost real produce an uncanny-valley response and make people less likely to want the food.
- Tight margins are pushing operators to use low-cost AI: industry data show a measurable share of restaurants use AI for marketing and services exist that coach owners to generate images for small fees.
- Experts say the visuals come from how models are trained and from feedback loops that smooth and homogenize outputs, producing a narrow, overly perfect aesthetic that people find off-putting.
- The backlash has hurt businesses through negative reviews, graffiti, and lost trust, and culinary groups now recommend real photos, simple illustrations, or hybrid editing rather than fully synthetic images as AI expands into menu planning tools.