After testing its artificial intelligence-powered ordering system at a small selection of drive-thrus around the United States, Taco Bell is electing to roll out the technology on a wider scale. A release published Wednesday says the fast food chain will introduce AI ordering at its drive-thrus in “hundreds” of locations by the end of the year.
Yum! Brands (the company behind Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, and The Habit) has been fairly secretive about the “Voice AI” platform that drives its new drive-thru ordering system. We know from a low-yield Bloomberg inquiry that a third-party company developed the platform, and that, based on its name, it uses customers’ voices as inputs. Yum! Brands has declined to share publicly how many orders the platform can take without requiring assistance from human employees. Instead, it’s emphasized that its AI is “designed to enhance back-of-house operations for team members and elevate the order experience for consumers” by easing human task load and reducing wait times.
Credit: Yum! Brands
The brand first began testing AI-powered drive-thru ordering about two years ago, when over 100 locations in 13 states received the new ordering system. Joe Park, who was appointed chief digital and technology officer in January, drove the wider adoption of AI ordering technology after reportedly deploying “an AI-based platform for optimizing food preparation” and a digital management coach in his previous role. The success of Taco Bell’s initial trial has spurred KFC to begin testing drive-thru AI at a few of its own locations in Australia.
AI ordering systems make up just one part of Taco Bell’s “quest to be the fastest drive-thru in America,” as the quick-serve industry magazine QSR puts it. In 2022, the brand opened Taco Bell Defy, a takeout-only concept in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. The futuristic riff on the classic Taco Bell experience uses a four-lane drive-thru, digital check-in screens, and a two-story model with the kitchen on top—and an elevator devoted entirely to food—to dish out orders faster than any of its other locations. Taco Bell claims changes like these are necessary to satisfy both delivery drivers and direct customers, for whom efficiency makes or breaks the fast food dining experience.
Other fast food brands have tested AI ordering systems with varying success. Wendy’s, which brought AI to a single drive-thru in Columbus, Ohio last year, appears to still utilize its system despite the AI’s 14% error rate. White Castle uses an AI system nicknamed “Julia” to take drive-thru orders, though customers can request help from a human employee at any time. McDonald’s has meanwhile chosen to end its AI-powered drive-thru test with IBM after a series of unflattering mishaps.