Horii Food Service Begins Using AI Operator "miraio" in Physical Stores! Reservation Reception to be Automated with "miraio" for Food & Beverage, Launching at Two "Kakurean Shino-ya" locations on May 18.

Horii Food Service Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Mito, Ibaraki; President: Akihisa Fujita; hereinafter Horii Food Service) announces that it will begin using the "Horii Food Service version of miraio," which has been under development, at two locations of its proprietary brand "Kakurean Shino-ya" starting Monday, May 18, 2026. The system utilizes technology provided by Upsell Technologies Inc. (Headquarters: Toshima-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director CEO Group Chairman: Ryota Takahashi / Representative Director CFO: Masaki Ehara; hereinafter Upsell Technologies) and pluszero Inc. (Headquarters: Setagaya-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director Chairman CEO: Yoshiyuki Oshiro / Representative Director President COO: Ryota Mori; hereinafter pluszero), who jointly develop and operate the AI operator "miraio." In the future, we will sequentially expand the use to more stores, strengthening our digital response capabilities to provide further value to customers and streamline store operations. ■ Introduction to "Kakurean Shino-ya" "Kakurean Shino-ya" is a food and beverage brand characterized by its high-quality "wa" (Japanese) atmosphere and a hideaway concept that emphasizes privacy with all-private seating. To maximize the brand's unique user experience of enjoying carefully selected ingredients in a calm space, we are introducing the AI operator "miraio" to promote the DX of store operations. This introduction will reduce work interruptions for store staff due to phone calls, allowing them to focus more on providing detailed hospitality to visiting customers and on creating the brand's signature atmosphere. ■ Implementation Stores and Start Date • Target Brand: "Kakurean Shino-ya" • Implementation Stores: ○ Kakurean Shino-ya Warabi Station East Exit Store ○ Kakurean Shino-ya Yashio Station Front Store • Start Date: Monday, May 18, 2026~ ■ Background and Purpose of Introduction The food service industry faces significant challenges such as labor shortages, rising personnel costs, and particularly, securing staff for late-night shifts and in rural areas. Horii Food Service, which operates a wide network of stores mainly in the North Kanto region, has identified strengthening its digital response capabilities as essential for continuous growth and has decided to use "miraio for Food & Beverage" as a measure to promote AI integration. The introduction of this service will enable 24/7 handling of reservation reception, changes, and cancellations with human-like quality, simultaneously reducing staff burden and improving customer convenience. ■ Benefits of Introduction ● Suppression of Hallucination Risk: AEI's patented technology ensures accurate and reliable responses. ● 24/7 対応: Prevents lost opportunities during off-hours and provides consistent quality reception at all times. ● Improved Customer Service Quality: By entrusting phone-related tasks to AI, it creates an environment where store staff can concentrate on face-to-face customer service. ● Stress-Free Reservation Experience: Eliminates the frustration of unanswered calls and ensures a smooth reservation process. ■ Future Outlook Horii Food Service will proceed with a gradual expansion to other stores based on the success of these two initial locations. Furthermore, by leveraging the knowledge gained through this initiative, we aim to contribute to better AI development and establish a next-generation store operation model that will lead the industry. ■ About "AEI (Artificial Elastic Intelligence)" "AEI (Artificial Elastic Intelligence)," as advocated by pluszero, is a proprietary concept in the field of natural language processing that refers to "AI capable of performing tasks like a human within a specific, limited range of operations." As an alternative to "Artificial General Intelligence," which is considered difficult to achieve with current AI technology, pluszero is developing "AEI," a technology that enables practical-level task performance by focusing on specific conditions. "AEI" has the characteristic of being able to enhance the reliability of AI chat services that use the much-talked-about LLMs (Large Language Models). While the solution to the proliferation of large language model technology is indicated in the form of "trusted AI" and "responsible AI," "AEI" is the embodiment of this. In September 2021, pluszero obtained a patent for the "Meaning-Understanding AI" that forms the core of AEI. In the future, through a series of initiatives, "AEI" will be realized by advancing the research and development of "Meaning-Understanding AI" that can understand human language at a high level. Learn more about AEI here: https://plus-zero.co.jp/aei ■ Company Overviews [Horii Food Service Co., Ltd., Upsell Technologies Inc., pluszero Inc. details]...