For Peter Piper Pizza's CMO, AI Copilot Elevates Brand Mission

In the rush to adopt AI, marketers are juggling how to use its speed without sacrificing the human connection that defines a brand. It’s a balancing act that Peter Piper Pizza, a 50-year-old family brand, is navigating with a clear philosophy: AI is the copilot, not the lead.

That's the path set forth by Genaro Perez, Chief Marketing Officer at Peter Piper Pizza. With over 25 years leading marketing for restaurant giants like P.F. Chang's and Brinker International, his perspective on the AI hype is grounded in experience. His strategy uses technology to serve the brand’s core mission, not the other way around. “Human instinct leads, and AI follows. Human insight is very powerful when creating campaigns and communicating to the consumer. What AI does for us is that it helps with the 'how' by spotting specific trends or helping us test concepts," he says.

For Perez, this isn't just a mantra. He explains that a human understanding of the brand’s 50-year legacy dictates the “why” and “what” of a campaign, while AI helps with the “how.” Instead of chasing hype, the brand's first big AI initiative solved a stubbornly human problem. Since many guests still prefer ordering by phone, the company partnered with SoundHound AI to add a voice agent, making sure they wouldn't lose calls during peak hours.

• Amplify, don't replace: "AI is making us more efficient and making sure that we don't lose any of those calls. But it's still the way that the consumer wants to communicate with us." This approach makes sure that technology supports existing customer preferences, reinforcing brand loyalty rather than forcing new behaviors.

• Learning curve: "We're definitely learning. It has taken a few iterations to get things right, like refining the AI agent's greetings or the placement of promotional messages." This iterative process underscores a pragmatic, continuous improvement mindset, acknowledging that AI implementation is an ongoing journey of refinement.

Perez applies the 'copilot' philosophy to the creative process, too. The team starts with a human insight, then uses AI-powered testing to perfect the message. They also use AI to listen to customer feedback at scale, helping them respond more effectively to guest needs. But he cautions that this new power requires restraint. The ability to generate endless creative variations creates a risk of "creative overload," and the solution, he says, is using data to understand what level of communication each guest actually wants.

• Listen and learn: "We use AI to analyze guest feedback, and while we still review each one personally, the technology helps us identify key issues to address and successes to celebrate with our restaurant teams," he explains. AI transforms raw, unstructured customer data into actionable insights, enabling more targeted improvements and positive reinforcement for staff.

• Just enough: "I can communicate with you every day. But do you really want that?" This highlights the ethical and strategic responsibility marketers have to avoid overwhelming customers, even when technology makes it possible, underscoring the importance of human judgment in setting communication boundaries.

Governing this balance between technology and restraint is a clear commitment to the brand's identity, grounded in its mission to deliver value for hardworking families, shown through initiatives like its Family Savings Pass. This mission, reinforced by the fact that every restaurant makes its pizza dough from scratch daily, is what the technology is ultimately built to serve.

• The secret sauce: "It's important to keep the brand centered on real people, real moments, and our food. We sell food, but we also facilitate the connection that happens through food in our restaurants," Perez emphasizes. These foundational elements provide the "why" that AI is designed to support, ensuring technology never overshadows the core human experience.

The next frontier for Perez is using AI to create hyper-personalized messages that feel authentic. He sees it as an opportunity to optimize marketing by speaking to customers based on their unique habits. Communicating with a lunch buffet regular, for example, is different than messaging for a family that comes for food and games. "Meet your guests where they are," Perez advises. "AI should complement, not replace, how they connect with you.”