Yum! Brands wants to accelerate AI technology, and it’s partnering with some of the best minds in the world to do so.
The group announced Tuesday that it partnered with NVIDIA—a highly regarded leader in AI development—to scale AI-powered innovation across 61,000-plus locations worldwide. Yum! is NVIDIA’s first AI restaurant partner. The company will integrate NVIDIA’s AI solutions into Byte by Yum!, its new proprietary digital platform.
The two sides will focus on three primary AI applications, the first being voice AI for order taking. NVIDIA software will fuel AI-driven voice agents for drive-thru and call center operations. These systems will recognize human speech patterns, navigate complex menu preferences, and enable faster, more accurate ordering, according to Yum!
The second is computer vision, which includes AI-powered cameras and real-time analytics to improve drive-thru speed, order accuracy, and labor management. The tech will provide instant alerts and recommendations for employees.
The companies will also collaborate on AI-driven restaurant intelligence. Yum! will use AI analytics to evaluate restaurant performance and provide tailored recommendations for managers. Additionally, the technology will analyze best practices from high-performing locations and apply insights across the system.
The AI technology built with NVIDIA’s software will be proprietary to Yum!, giving it full ownership to customize and evolve its tech stack.
“At Yum, we have a bold vision to deliver leading-edge, AI-powered technology capabilities to our customers and team members globally,” Joe Park, chief digital & technology officer of Yum! and president of Byte by Yum!, said in a statement. “We are thrilled to partner with a pioneering company like NVIDIA to help us accelerate this ambition. This partnership will enable us to harness the rich consumer and operational data sets on our Byte by Yum! integrated platform to build smarter AI engines that will create easier experiences for our customers and team members.”
Yum! has already started testing multiple AI solutions using NVIDIA technology in select Taco Bell and Pizza Hut locations in the U.S. Yum! plans to expand the technology to 500 restaurants across all four of its brands (Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC, and The Habit Burger & Grill) by the second quarter.
Yum! highlighted NVIDIA technology’s ability to rapidly run machine learning models on large volumes of data and solve complex tasks, boost operational efficiency, and increase guest engagement. The restaurant group’s goal is to use this innovation to give franchisees better, faster, and cheaper technology, while also satisfying customers and maximizing shareholder returns.
“NVIDIA’s software makes it affordable for even the largest restaurant company to improve operations and customer experiences, proving AI can pay off at every location,” Andrew Sun, NVIDIA’s global director of retail, CPG and QSR business development, said in a statement. “Working with Yum! Brands’ best-in-class Digital & Technology team and proprietary Byte by Yum! platform to integrate NVIDIA AI software breaks barriers to AI innovation in the restaurant industry—delivering real-time, context-aware intelligence, powered by a scalable inference platform.”
The announcement comes a month and a half after the restaurant group revealed Byte by Yum!, a platform comprising online and mobile app ordering, point of sale, kitchen and delivery optimization, menu management, inventory and labor management, and team member tools. Around 25,000 restaurants worldwide use at least one of Byte by Yum!’s products. Taco Bell U.S. uses the integrated online ordering, point of sale, and back-of-house technologies. Pizza Hut U.S. uses the platform’s kitchen system to improve delivery times, reduce wait times in the restaurant, and provide guests with real-time updates of their order location. KFC Global uses the AI restaurant coach to promote operational consistency and restaurant manager efficiency.
