Yum China Unveils AI Assistant for Store Managers: A Tech-Fueled Growth Revolution

“Q-Smart” assistant will provide restaurant managers with broad-based support for day-to-day restaurant operations, allowing them to enhance their focus on delivering excellent customer service

SHANGHAI, June 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: YUMC and HKEX: 9987, “Yum China” or the “Company”) is doubling down on its tech-forward strategy, announcing the pilot launch of “Q-Smart,” a hands-free, AI-powered assistant designed to streamline operations for its restaurant managers. This move underscores the company’s commitment to leveraging technology to enhance efficiency and elevate the customer experience. Q-Smart promises to provide managers with intelligent support for a wide array of daily tasks, from scheduling and inventory management to ensuring food quality and safety – all key elements in a successful restaurant operation.

Q-Smart’s hands-free functionality, utilizing wearable devices like wireless earphones and smart watches, sets it apart from traditional systems that often require managers to be tethered to touchscreens. This frees up their hands and allows them to interact more effectively with staff and customers. Using natural language processing, Q-Smart can respond to voice commands, enabling managers to swiftly conduct equipment inspections, perform inventory counts, and address urgent operational issues. The system also taps into Yum China’s extensive knowledge base, providing real-time solutions and support, allowing managers to focus more on what matters most: the customer.

For instance, the AI assistant actively monitors inventory levels, comparing them with projected sales to prompt managers to make timely ordering decisions. This proactive approach aims to optimize inventory usage and minimize waste – a critical factor in profitability, especially in a market as competitive as China. Following a successful initial development and testing phase, Q-Smart is now being trialed in select KFC locations. Yum China plans to incorporate user feedback from this pilot before a wider rollout, demonstrating a measured and data-driven approach to technology implementation.

Leila Zhang, Chief Technology Officer, Yum China, highlighted the potential of Q-Smart. “Q-Smart is not just an AI tool —it is a potential game-changer for how restaurants can be managed. We believe that Q-Smart will not only help Yum China improve its operational efficiency, but can also serve as an example for the digital transformation and smart development of the catering industry.”

The launch of Q-Smart marks another significant step in Yum China’s decade-long digital journey. Beginning with digital payment options in 2015 and the launch of its Super App in 2016, the company has consistently embraced technology to enhance its operations. As of March 2025, its digital loyalty programs for KFC and Pizza Hut boasted over 540 million members, a testament to the success of its customer-focused initiatives. Furthermore, Yum China’s early adoption of cloud technology with its Yum China Cloud platform provides a stable foundation for agile development and a seamless online experience.

Yum China’s innovation pipeline extends beyond Q-Smart. The company began integrating AI-assisted store management tools as early as 2019. The introduction of the “Super Brain” tool in 2021, leveraging data from across its extensive store network, and the handheld Pocket Managers in 2022, allowing for real-time operational tracking, demonstrate a commitment to empowering managers with actionable insights. The company is also exploring Generative AI (AIGC) applications that are now integrated into various business segments including logistics, customer service and back-office functions.

The official launch of Q-Smart coincided with Yum China’s inaugural AI Day, held in Shanghai on June 20, 2025. The event also featured the final round of the company’s “All-Staff Hackathon,” an initiative launched in March 2025 to encourage employees to propose technology-based solutions to business challenges. The hackathon attracted nearly 200 teams across approximately 30 markets.

At the AI Day opening ceremony, Yum China CEO Joey Wat announced the establishment of a 100 million yuan (US$13.9 million) Frontline Innovation Fund. This fund is designed to provide resources directly to frontline restaurant employees. These initiatives support the Company’s homegrown innovation in technology applications, including making the All-Staff Hackathon a regular annual event.

Wat remarked: “Yum China has always believed that true innovation must originate from frontline needs and serve frontline scenarios. AI is not only a technical tool to improve efficiency, but also a core partner to stimulate employee creativity.”

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. We intend all forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts and by the use of forward-looking words such as “expect,” “expectation,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “may,” “could,” “intend,” “belief,” “plan,” “estimate,” “target,” “predict,” “project,” “likely,” “will,” “continue,” “should,” “forecast,” “outlook,” “commit” or similar terminology. These statements are based on current estimates and assumptions made by us in light of our experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that we believe are appropriate and reasonable under the circumstances, but there can be no assurance that such estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance and are inherently subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and could cause our actual results or events to differ materially from those indicated by those statements. We cannot assure you that any of our expectations, estimates or assumptions will be achieved. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are only made as of the date of this press release, and we disclaim any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by law. Numerous factors could cause our actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. In addition, other risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe to be immaterial could affect the accuracy of any such forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements should be evaluated with the understanding of their inherent uncertainty. You should consult our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (including the information set forth under the captions “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q) for additional detail about factors that could affect our financial and other results.

About Yum China Holdings, Inc.

Yum China is the largest restaurant company in China with a mission to make every life taste beautiful. The Company operates over 16,000 restaurants under six brands across over 2,300 cities in China. KFC and Pizza Hut are the leading brands in the quick-service and casual dining restaurant spaces in China, respectively. In addition, Yum China has partnered with Lavazza to develop the Lavazza coffee concept in China. Little Sheep and Huang Ji Huang specialize in Chinese cuisine. Taco Bell offers innovative Mexican-inspired food. Yum China has a world-class, digitalized supply chain, which includes an extensive network of logistics centers nationwide and an in-house supply chain management system. Its strong digital capabilities and loyalty program enable the Company to reach customers faster and serve them better. Yum China is a Fortune 500 company with the vision to be the world’s most innovative pioneer in the restaurant industry. For more information, please visit https://ir.yumchina.com/.

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