How to choose AI digital signage for your restaurant or store

What should the platform solve before you even look at pricing?

Five things: publishing without walking up to the screen, scheduling content by day and hour, generating artwork without a designer, managing several screens at once, and working with the TV you already have. If a platform doesn't solve these five, any price is expensive.

• Remote publishing: change the message from your phone, without traveling to the store.
• Scheduling: the lunch promo appears from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. on its own, with nobody activating it.
• AI artwork: describe the promotion in one sentence and get a piece ready to publish.
• Multi-screen: one change that reaches every screen in the store or across locations.
• Compatibility: it must work on your current smart TV or with an affordable Android box.

If you're still comparing formats rather than platforms, start with the previous decision: USB drive vs. AI digital signage tells you when it's time to make the switch.

What should you ask when evaluating options?

Four direct questions: how long does it take a promo to reach the screen, can I schedule it by time slot without touching anything every day, who does the design when I have no designer, and what happens when I open a second location? The answers separate a real tool from a photo gallery app.

At Displei.co, for instance, pilot businesses in Colombia went from idea to screen in 2 minutes on average and saved 3 hours per month per location. The point isn't the brand: it's demanding that level of responsiveness from any option you evaluate.

Reference estimate: figures from the Colombia pilot. Results vary by number of screens and frequency of changes.

What changes if you run a restaurant?

The menu is the content. You need menus that are readable from the counter, price changes without reprinting anything, promotions by time slot — breakfast, lunch, dinner — and the option to feature daily specials without depending on anyone.

• Editable digital menu: change a price or mark an item sold out in minutes, not at the next print run.
• Time slots: the lunch promo from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. shows itself and disappears on its own.
• Appetizing photos with AI: the dish-of-the-day piece is generated from a description, no photo shoot needed.
• Screen at the counter or food court: an always up-to-date, legible price board.

The step-by-step for setting up your menu is in how to make a digital restaurant menu without a designer, and the full sector case study is in digital signage for restaurants.

What if you run a store or retail business?

Content rotates with your campaigns. What matters is launching a promotion the same day it's decided, keeping the window display and the interior consistent, and replicating the change across every location without shipping USB drives from city to city.

• Flash campaigns: from internal decision to screen the same day, no print vendors involved.
• Scheduled seasons: Mother's Day, Black Friday or end-of-season sales are scheduled ahead of time.
• Several locations: the same campaign reaches Bogotá, Medellín and Cali with a single click.
• Cross-sell at checkout: the counter screen suggests the add-on while the customer pays.

If you're coming from print, the cost and time comparison is in digital signage vs. printed posters.

How much should it cost in Colombia?

A serious AI platform costs between COP $129,000 and $397,000 per month plus 19% VAT, depending on the number of screens and whether you need video. Be wary of the two extremes: free tools, which don't schedule or generate artwork, and anything that requires a quote, which is usually built for large chains.

At Displei.co the Esencial plan costs COP $129,000 per month plus VAT and the Pro plan costs COP $397,000 per month plus VAT, with video and up to 10 screens; both are self-service with no lock-in. The full investment breakdown, including hardware, is in how much it costs to install a digital screen for your business.

Ranges are for reference for the Colombian market in 2026 and can vary by provider and included features.

Final checklist before you decide

Before paying for the first month, verify these six things in a demo using your own content: remote publishing, time-based scheduling, AI artwork, multi-screen support, compatibility with your TV, and a clear price in pesos with VAT.

• ☐ I changed a promo from my phone during the demo.
• ☐ I scheduled a time slot and saw it turn on by itself.
• ☐ I generated a piece with AI by describing my real promotion.
• ☐ I confirmed it works with my current TV.
• ☐ I saw the final price in COP, with VAT, with no hidden quote.
• ☐ I asked what happens when I open a second location.

If an option fails this list, the problem isn't your business, it's the tool. For the full picture of the category, see our complete guide to digital signage for small and medium businesses in Colombia.