Recently, the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce released the "Action Plan for Promoting the Intelligent Layout of the Catering Industry in Shanghai (2026-2028)", which clearly proposes to use artificial intelligence technology to promote the transformation and upgrading of the catering industry towards industrialization, standardization, branding, internationalization, and greening. This measure not only serves as a pioneering exploration for the intelligent transformation of the catering industry, but also provides new ideas for the high-quality development of cities. Artificial intelligence is evolving from a technological tool to an important driving force for the innovation of the catering industry. Intelligent technology can improve the operational efficiency and service quality of catering enterprises, achieve cost reduction and efficiency improvement through optimizing processes and precise management. Taking the "smart canteen" promoted in Shanghai as an example, citizens can place orders through an online booking system, and artificial intelligence can achieve precise meal preparation, which not only reduces food waste but also continuously improves dining efficiency. The real-time monitoring of sales and inventory by the digital center enables enterprises to quickly respond to market changes; AI assisted dish development effectively combines traditional cooking techniques with data analysis. This comprehensive efficiency improvement will continue to empower the development of the industry. The green transformation of the catering industry cannot be achieved without technological support, and intelligence is an effective path to achieve low-carbon, energy-saving, and environmental protection goals. In Shanghai's action plan, "driving green and low-carbon transformation with intelligence" includes embedding intelligent prompt systems to guide reasonable consumption, promoting intelligent waste classification and kitchen waste resource utilization systems, etc. These measures build a green catering ecosystem through precise prediction, process control, and resource optimization, which not only helps enterprises reduce costs but also reduces resource waste and environmental pollution. In addition, the smart supply chain system reduces logistics energy consumption through path optimization and cold chain traceability; The application of blockchain technology has enhanced the transparency of ingredient traceability and promoted sustainable procurement. These technological means together form a green closed loop from procurement, processing to consumption and recycling, allowing catering enterprises to better fulfill their social responsibilities while pursuing economic benefits, achieving a win-win situation between economic and environmental benefits. The internationalization of catering brands cannot be separated from the support of intelligent technology, and the "smart brain" has opened up new growth space for catering enterprises. Internally, artificial intelligence can analyze consumer trends and regional taste preferences through big data, enabling enterprises to accurately target customer groups, optimize product structure, and avoid homogeneous competition; Externally, intelligent systems provide technical support for brands to go global. Intelligent means enable brands to maintain their local market while having more confidence in exploring new overseas fields, ultimately driving the brand to go global and reach out to the world. The experience in Shanghai shows that the intelligent transformation of catering requires systematic planning and multiple measures. Firstly, cities need to establish a policy guidance system to incorporate intelligent catering into their digital economy development plans, and reduce the cost of enterprise transformation through efficient incentive measures. Secondly, we need to create a differentiated promotion path, combining classified policies with key breakthroughs. Develop differentiated intelligent promotion strategies for different business formats such as group meals, fast food, and regular meals, and use the most suitable methods for enterprises to promote intelligent deployment, avoiding a one size fits all approach. In addition, cultivating an industrial ecosystem, encouraging collaborative innovation between technology and catering enterprises, and creating a number of replicable and promotable demonstration projects. Cities can establish industry benchmarks by building demonstration projects such as robot restaurants and smart canteens, while encouraging platform enterprises to cooperate with small and medium-sized enterprises to lower the threshold for technology use. The intelligent transformation is not about replacing the humanistic value of traditional catering, but about empowering food culture with technology to shine with renewed brilliance in the new era. Only by combining technological potential with market vitality can sustainable promotion of intelligent catering be achieved. (New Society)