Hundreds Of Taco Bell AI Drive-Thrus Are Opening By End Of Year
As artificial intelligence continues to be tested out in different capacities to find the best usages for it, Taco Bell of all places is trying to lead the way in innovation. In an effort to streamline the drive-thru ordering experience for both their workers and their customers, Taco Bell is beginning to test out using AI ordering at their drive-thrus. They are currently piloting the technology at over 100 locations in the United States, with the hopes of this being something that can successfully be utilized globally.
Hoping For A Better Experience
Yum Brands believes AI ordering will provide a smoother ordering experience for customers and free up workers to handle other responsibilities besides taking orders.
In their tests of the technology so far, the company has said that it has made for more accurate ordering, shorter wait times in the drive-thru, and increased profits. If that is all accurate, it is easy to understand why Taco Bell would hop on to the trend of experimenting with AI.
Other Chains Have Already Tried AI
It is worth noting that Taco Bell certainly is not the first fast food chain to start dabbling in the use of AI. Wendy’s, White Castle, KFC, and McDonald’s have all also been experimenting with the uses of AI for modernizing their ordering experience.
However, the results have not been fully satisfactory so far. McDonald’s had announced back in June that they would be discontinuing using Automated Order Taker and would begin searching for AI services from other vendors instead.
Taco Bell Still Feels Confident
Taco Bell seems to feel confident in the technology they have, opting in on the most aggressive push for AI in their locations out of all the fast food companies using it.
Perhaps they have learned from the mistakes of other restaurants. Or perhaps they feel going ambitious is worth the risk, as success means they will be the first fast food company with widespread usage of this technology in a large number of their locations.
Not Much Feedback So Far
Yum Brands Chief Innovation Officer, Lawrence Kim, touted the benefits of Taco Bell adopting AI, saying, “With over two years of fine tuning and testing the drive-thru Voice AI technology, we’re confident in its effectiveness in optimizing operations and enhancing customer satisfaction.”
There has not been much in the way of feedback from customers on the technology as of yet. Despite the ambitious plans, Taco Bell’s usage of AI in their drive-thrus is still relatively small.
They have about 7,700 locations across the United States, but in California the technology can only be found in 5 locations with plans to expand that number this year to 30. As the usage becomes prevalent, it remains to be seen if customers are a fan of this new ordering style or not.
Other Chains Are Still Figuring It Out
In the case of McDonald’s, it is unclear what about the system they were using left them dissatisfied. Though it is easy to imagine that inaccurate orders or malfunctions resulting in longer wait times could have been some of the difficulties of the technology.
Evidently Taco Bell has not encountered such issues in their own AI ordering systems judging by their confidence in expanding the campaign.
As Taco Bell’s rollout of the AI drive-thrus continues to expand, it may not be long before you start encountering them the next time you have a craving for a burrito.
Source: NBC
