Tim Hortons franchise: AI Adoption Score 63/100
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Tim Hortons (QSR / Coffee & Bakery, headquartered in Canada) operates 6,232 units with +3.1% year-over-year unit growth, and scores 63/100 on the FranchisePulse AI Adoption Score for Q3 2026 — ranking #30 of 58 tracked franchise systems.
RBI franchise brand with 6,232 restaurants across 21 countries/territories as of FY2025, founded in 1964. Its largest international market is mainland China, run by separately listed master franchisee TH International (1,047 stores, net growth slowing to about +2.4% in 2025). RBI says it applies artificial intelligence tools brand-wide to the drive-thru and ordering experience, but discloses no Tim Hortons-specific AI rollout or results.
As of December 31, 2025, TH International (Tims China) had 1,047 system-wide stores across 92 cities in mainland China
TH International Limited (Tims China) — FY2025 Form 20-F (filed 2026-04-30) ↗Officialreviewed 2026-09-16Tims China system-wide stores grew from 1,022 (576 company-operated + 446 franchised) at Dec 31, 2024 to 1,047 (562 company-operated + 485 franchised) at Dec 31, 2025, a net increase of about 2.4%
TH International Limited (Tims China) — FY2025 Form 20-F (filed 2026-04-30) ↗Officialreviewed 2026-09-16| Sector | QSR / Coffee & Bakery |
| Headquarters | Canada |
| Units (approx.) | 6,232 |
| Unit growth YoY | +3.1% |
| Region | North America |
| Founded | 1964 |
| AI Adoption Score | 63/100 · rank #30/58 |
| Figures last reviewed | 2026-09-16 |
AI Adoption Score breakdown
EDITORIAL METRIC · METHODOLOGY: franpulse.ai/data/franchise-ai-adoption-rate
How to read Tim Hortons’s score
At 63/100, Tim Hortons sits 1 point above the QSR / Coffee & Bakery average of 62 and 0 above the 58-system index average of 63. It ranks #2 of 6 in its sector on AI, and #4 by unit count, ahead on AI of its size.
Marketing AI leads at 70 and training & support AI trails at 55, a 15-point spread. Data infrastructure is 6 ahead of operations AI. Unit growth of +3.1% is level with the sector median of 3.1%.
| Pillar | Tim Hortons | QSR / Coffee & Bakery avg | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operations AI | 60 | 61 | -1 |
| Marketing AI | 70 | 67 | +3 |
| Training & Support AI | 55 | 54 | +1 |
| Data infrastructure | 66 | 65 | +1 |
QSR / COFFEE & BAKERY AVERAGES · 6 SYSTEMS · INDEX SUB-SCORES ONLY
Where Tim Hortons uses AI today
- —RBI says it uses technology «including artificial intelligence tools» to modernise the drive-thru and expand digital ordering across its brands — a company-wide statement, with no Tim Hortons-specific deployment or result disclosed
- —In 2020, RBI's Guest Intelligence team piloted digital drive-thru menu boards that suggest items from Tims Rewards history, time of day or weather, at 30 Tim Hortons locations in Canada
- —Tims China, the separately listed master franchisee, runs every store on one real-time system for point of sale, forecasting and inventory ordering, and says automatic sales forecasting and ordering is still being set up — neither is described by the company as AI