AI-Generated Food Images on Menus Draw Backlash Over Unappetizing Results

Restaurants are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence to generate images of their dishes for menus, but the results are drawing criticism from some consumers who say the pictures look unappealing or unsettling, according to a report by The Guardian.

Jill Sennett, a 37-year-old nurse in Denver, told The Guardian she encountered AI-generated menu images from a Jamaican barbecue pop-up restaurant during a recent lunch break that she found so unappetizing she shared them with her 26,000 followers on X. According to the report, the images depicted meats that appeared leathery, resembling belts, with what looked like tiny beetles on the surface.

The post was reshared by more than 500 people, many of whom expressed similar reactions of disgust, The Guardian reported.

Sennett said she believes the trend reflects a broader cultural shift. "Eating is such an essential human experience," she told The Guardian. "I think it's a bad cultural thing that restaurants are converting to these horrific, uncanny food images that are unappetizing."

The report noted that AI-generated images appearing on food menus have included depictions such as bread with a texture resembling reptile skin, among other unusual visual results that have caught the attention of diners and social media users.