Chatbots at the drive-thru are just the beginning

These are The StepbackA weekly newsletter covering one important story from the world of technology. To learn more about the impact of AI in our daily lives, following Emma Roth. The Stepback it will arrive in our subscription boxes at 8AM ET. Choose The Stepback Here.

In 2021, McDonald’s it became one of the first fast food chains greeting customers with an AI chatbot at the drive-thru. It started small, deploying voice-calling technology to 10 of its locations in Chicago. McDonald’s developed its drive-thru technology later find an Apprenticea startup that focuses on audio technology, discussed in 2019, and later worked with IBM increase automatic ordering.

This was just the beginning of the AI ​​drive-thru. Checkers and Rally’s partnered with AI company Presto to implement a chatbot in all the company’s channels in the US in 2022, with the aim of selling more food and drinks to customers and managing the correct order. The company also said the technology “will free up workers in many areas that rely on people for their businesses.”

Wendy’s and Taco Bell followed suit. In 2023, Wendy’s launched its “FreshAI” chatbot on one of them. in Columbus, Ohio in 2023. The company worked with Google to create an AI chatbot trained in franchise definitions, so it understands that “milkshake” is “Frosty” and that “JBC” is “junior bacon cheeseburger.” Wendy started developing technology months after implementation, reporting that it received orders without employee intervention 86 percent of the time.

Taco Bell was testing the Voice AI drive-thru at the same time and later announced a plan to expand the technology to hundreds of locations in the US by the end of 2024. Like other fast-casual chains, Taco Bell put the idea as a way to reduce the workload for employees and slash drive-thru waiting times. Other chains also began experimenting with the technology, including Panera Bread, White Castle, Carl’s Jr., Hardee’s, Panda Express, and Pope.

By now, you’ve probably come across at least one AI chatbot at your local fast food joint. I spoke to one at Checkers, where a person quickly took charge when I was told that one of the sandwiches I tried to order was missing. While companies continue to expand the use of AI drive-thrus, customers are no longer fans of it.

A January 2025 survey conducted by YouGov found that 55 percent of Americans would prefer a human to take their order while driving, compared to 21 percent who did not, and 4 percent who would prefer to use an AI chatbot. A lukewarm response can be problematic for some franchises, as McDonald’s terminated its contract and IBM in 2024. A year later, Taco Bell’s chief digital officer Dane Mathews said The Wall Street Journal that is review its submission of the AI ​​drive-thru after customers voiced their frustrations on social media and improved the technology order 18,000 cups of water. Some people say make up a striking similarity to command or speak in a a different language just bypass the technology and talk to an employee.

Customer frustration isn’t the only trend AI is driving; their loyalty is an issue, too. Last year, the Securities and Exchange Commission replied Presto – the company that powers AI drive-thrus at Checkers, Rally’s, Carl’s Jr., Hardee’s, and now, Dairy Queen – and misleading customers about the capabilities of its technology. In 2023, an SEC filing revealed this working people in the Philippines joined the many rules adopted by Presto’s AI system.

Fast food chains are taking AI beyond the drive-thru. Although The Wall Street Journal reports that McDonald’s is giving AI-powered drive-thrus-thrus a second chance, it is also exploring other ways to use the technology, including a system that predicts when its equipment (as seen ice cream machines are always out of order) can be broken. The company is also using it AI generated pages compare the weight of the order with the actual weight, and then notify the staff if something is missing, which will help the staff remember to pack your to-go bag with fries.

Burger King, which is testing a limited number of AI drive-thrus, announced in February that it was running one AI assistantcalled “Patty,” which sits inside the employees’ headphones. Employees can chat with an AI assistant if they need help with food preparation, such as if they forget how many strips of bacon to put on a Texas Double Whopper. At the same time, Patty listens to the employees to see if they are friendly. This means tracking if they say “welcome to Burger King,” “please,” and “thank you.” Burger King also uses AI to notify machine operators when an item is ready or out of stock, and to remove affected items from a digital menu board.

Taco Bell is experiment with an AI-driven board, too. But instead of just using AI to remove items from menus, it will use the technology to “change the look, content, and experience on a car-by-car basis,” Ranjith Roy, chief financial officer at Taco Bell’s parent company Yum!, said in a statement to the company. incoming calls soon. Roy isn’t expanding on that, but it looks like it could allow Taco Bell to change what’s on the menu based on what customers are pulling in.

Other uses for AI are also growing. All of them At Culver’s and Zaxbys is working with a company called Berry AI to install camera sensors at the drive-thru to record vehicle information, operations, and more. Berry AI says its technology will shorten inspection times by 20 to 40 percent. It looks like fast-food chains may soon start deploying AI technology that’s less in-your-face than AI chat at the drive-thru window, whether it’s a menu change you don’t notice, or a scale that weighs your bag of food before it’s served to you — at least until these companies perfect their chatbot technology.