Yum! Brands announced Wednesday that Taco Bell will expand automated voice ordering at the drive-thru to hundreds of restaurants across the country by the end of the year.
The technology is currently in more than 100 Taco Bell U.S. restaurants in 13 states. The voice AI is tasked with enhancing back-of-house operations for employees and improving the ordering experience for guests. Thus far, Taco Bell has seen an ease in task load for workers and better order accuracy, which has resulted in a more consistent drive-thru process and lower wait times.
“Innovation is ingrained in our DNA at Taco Bell, and we view Voice AI as a means to improve the team member and consumer experiences,” Dane Mathews, Taco Bell chief digital & technology officer, said in a statement. “Tapping into AI gives us the ability to ease team members’ workloads, freeing them to focus on front-of-house hospitality. It also enables us to unlock new and meaningful ways to engage with our customers.”
The automated voice ordering system is supported by digital menu boards and Yum!’s proprietary Poseidon POS system. It will soon integrate with Taco Bell’s rewards program as well. The technology uses feedback, data, and other insights to help with talking to guests and making the drive-thru a user-friendly interaction.
Yum! is also testing drive-thru voice AI in five KFC restaurants in Australia, which is also going favorably.
“Yum! Brands is integrating digital and technology into all aspects of our business with exciting new capabilities, and AI is a core piece of that strategy,” Yum! chief innovation officer Lawrence Kim said in a statement. “We’re expanding and accelerating our AI capabilities like Voice AI to deliver leading-edge technologies to our franchisees and to enhance the consumer and team member experience. 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.”
Yum!’s goal is to implement voice AI technology in drive-thrus at all of its brands globally.
In 2023, Yum! earned nearly $30 billion in digital sales. In Q1, over 50 percent of sales came through digital channels. The digital business has more than doubled since 2019.
Taco Bell is among several quick-service chains testing drive-thru AI. Others include Checkers & Rally’s, Carl’s Jr., Wendy’s, White Castle, Bojangles, and Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken. McDonald’s had used the technology with IBM, but revealed in June that it stopped testing the innovation. Previous reports said the order accuracy wasn’t up to par.
