The voice taking your order for a Doritos Locos taco at the Taco Bell drive-thru could belong to an AI server. Taco Bell’s parent company, Yum! Brands, is extending its voice AI feature to hundreds of new locations across the United States. The Mexican food chain has had early success with incorporating AI into its drive-thrus, and the company has plans to go global with the technology at its other restaurants, including KFC.
More than 100 Taco Bell drive-thrus in 13 states already employ AI to take orders from drivers. The response has been positive enough to warrant a major push by executives to reach hundreds more by the end of the year. The idea is to improve and streamline behind-the-scenes operations. The kitchen becomes less chaotic when no one is at the microphone, and employees can focus on cooking and other tasks, taking orders only when the AI is overloaded.
“Yum! Brands is integrating digital and technology into every aspect of our business with exciting new capabilities, and AI is a centerpiece of that strategy. We are expanding and accelerating our AI capabilities, like Voice AI, to deliver cutting-edge technologies to our franchisees and enhance the customer and team member experience,” Yum! Brands Chief Innovation Officer Lawrence Kim said in a statement. “After more than two years of refining and testing the drive-thru Voice AI technology, we are confident in its effectiveness in streamlining operations and improving customer satisfaction.”
Yum! says the voice AI platform has been very helpful at Taco Bell locations that have been part of the voice AI pilots. Those locations reported a higher rate of accurate orders and had higher customer satisfaction due to the faster and more consistent process. Of course, even several hundred additional Taco Bell locations incorporating voice AI won’t make it universal, as there are nearly 7,500 Taco Bells in the U.S. alone.
AI order underway
Taco Bell may have a rosy view of voice AI in drive-thrus, but the technology has had its share of unwanted onions in its delivery. McDonald's has quietly scaled back its own voice AI ambitions despite a long and complex effort over many years that saw McD Tech Labs created and sold to IBM. On the other hand, Wendy's pilot program in partnership with Google has gone well, while the company behind Hardee's and Carl's Jr. signed deals with three different voice AI developers to bring the option to as many locations as possible.
Yum! has already begun rolling out its own plans to expand its voice AI globally. Five KFC restaurants in Australia are currently testing voice AI in drive-thrus. The company says it has received enough positive feedback to begin preparing for a broader rollout across KFC and other Yum! Brands restaurants.
“Innovation is ingrained in our DNA at Taco Bell, and we see voice AI as a means to improve the experiences of our team members and customers,” said Dane Mathews, chief digital and technology officer at Taco Bell. “Leveraging AI gives us the ability to relieve team members’ workloads, allowing them to focus on serving customers. It also allows us to discover new and meaningful ways to engage with our customers.”
