Hi Auto announced the launch of its AI voice-cloning feature, which delivers the most personalized voice AI-enabled drive-thru experience. Hi Auto’s voice cloning solution enables Quick Service Restaurants to incorporate fully customized voice options into their drive-thru voice AI ordering technology.

This game-changing feature provides drive-thru customers with a more personalized and novel ordering experience, ultimately enhancing customer engagement. Hi Auto’s AI voice cloning records and captures all the nuances of a particular person’s voice, including tone, accent and dialect. With just a few minutes of original recorded speech, Hi Auto can create a digital voice indistinguishable from the original speaker and seamlessly incorporate it into a store’s order-taking system.

Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken, an early adopter of Hi Auto’s drive-thru voice AI ordering technology, plans to launch the new voice cloning feature as a test in its select Ohio drive-thru locations. Guests who visit Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken Ohio locations will be greeted with the voice of sports broadcaster and former NFL player Keith Byars. Byars grew up in Ohio and went on to play football at Ohio State. In 2000 Keith was inducted into the Ohio State Hall of Fame and in 2020 he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Byers proceeded to play in the National Football League for 13 seasons, playing for teams including Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots and New York Jets. Currently, Byars hosts “The Keith Byars Show” which can be heard on ESPN 1410 WING-AM in Dayton, Ohio.

“Lee’s has been blessed to partner with Hi Auto since December of 2020, utilizing their AI voice recognition technology to help our employees and restaurants through the pandemic. We look forward to implementing their latest innovation to make our customer’s drive-thru experience the most unique experience in the Dayton market,” says Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken Owner and Operator Chuck Doran. “We’ve partnered with Keith Byars since his radio program launched 2018. The integrity, quality and excellence Keith brought to the football field and continues to bring to his broadcasts is what we strive to provide every customer that visits Lee’s. This is just one more step in that quest.”

“Three years ago, Lee’s embarked on a pioneering journey with Hi Auto, leveraging their cutting-edge artificial intelligence for our drive-thru orders, marking a milestone in operational efficiency and customer service,” adds Ryan Weaver, CEO of Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken. “This collaboration not only enhanced our labor efficiency by saving approximately 5-6 hours daily, but also significantly improved order consistency and upselling conversions.”

Hi Auto’s voice AI ordering technology, which is deployed in over 400 drive-thru locations across the U.S., is transforming how quick-service restaurants serve their customers by helping to optimize the deployment of valuable staff hours and improve the speed and accuracy of orders. Voice AI reduces the time employees spend taking orders from customers which translates to faster drive-through and pick-ups, shorter queues, and greater workforce efficiency, so employees can spend more time on more critical tasks.

Commenting on the new AI voice-cloning feature, Hi Auto’s CEO and Co-Founder Roy Baharav said, “Hi Auto’s AI voice cloning aims to humanize the customer drive-through experience, by giving automated attendants a “real” voice. For restaurants, having their own unique voice is essential in creating a memorable personal experience, and genuinely enhancing brand identity. We are rolling out the ability to clone voices at the national level as well as the local level, allowing franchisees to tailor the voice to their business needs. Just like with accuracy and speed, we are doing it at full scale at hundreds of stores.”