Valyant AI, a Colorado-based artificial intelligence company focused on customer service in the quick-serve restaurant industry, announced an advanced functionality to its conversational artificial intelligence platform, the ability to leverage customer data for opportunities to increase customer spend.

Deployed at the Good Times Burgers & Frozen Custard located at 2095 S. Broadway in Denver, Valyant AI’s platform, Holly, began taking customer breakfast orders in January before expanding to lunch and dinner orders earlier this month. As the system takes in an increasing amount of information from a variety of sources and analyzes it, it is able to offer operators actionable recommendations aimed at boosting profits. The software then leverages customer data insights and other factors, including time of day, item popularity, traffic, weather and items normally purchased together, to encourage customers to purchase more expensive or upgraded items as well as other add-ons.

“As the customer’s first real point of contact with a restaurant, our platform serves a crucially important role in boosting sales,” says Rob Carpenter, CEO and founder of Valyant AI. “Through Holly’s emphasis on friendly customer service, reduced wait times, high-profit menu item offerings and a simplified menu board, Good Times is significantly increasing average ticket sizes and increasing the overall speed of their drive-thru.”

Through the Valyant AI platform, Good Times is experiencing an average 6% increase in spend per order and as much as a 23 percent increase on some days. The platform’s average attempted upsell success rate is 40 percent, while it reduces a customer’s average wait time by more than 10 to 25 percent on average.

According to a recent study, most major quick-serve restaurants see about 70% of their sales going out the drive-thru window, and an effective upselling strategy only serves to increase that total. In fact, a Journal of Marketing Research study found people will eat 85% more when servers offer them more.

“With our software continually being refined and its functionality constantly increasing, interest in partnership opportunities is rapidly increasing,” said Carpenter. “While appreciative of all of the inquiries we’ve already received, we only aim to expand to collaborate with one additional partner this year.”