It seems that we just can’t shake AI, especially when it comes to fast food restaurants. Just a few weeks after customers rejoiced at the news that McDonald’s would be shutting down all of its AI drive-thrus, another restaurant has chosen to embrace the technology.
Taco Bell just announced that it will expand its Voice AI drive-thru technology to hundreds of Taco Bell locations in the U.S. by the end of 2024. The AI drive thrus are currently available at more than 100 Taco Bell locations in 13 states.
According to the restaurant, the goal of the expansion is to “enhance the consumer and team member experience.” They also cited a number of other benefits, including easing task load for team members, improving order accuracy, and reducing 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,” said Dane Mathews, Chief Digital & Technology Officer, Taco Bell, 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.”
Yum! Brands, the company that owns Taco Bell and KFC, also confirmed that Voice AI is being tested at five KFC drive-thrus in Australia, and has been “positively received.”
Given that KFC and Taco Bell both have had more favorable experiences with Voice AI, it’s unclear where McDonald’s may have gone wrong with its approach to the technology. But according to some customers, it was simply too chaotic.
The feature is supposed to work by using Artificial Intelligence to take customers’ orders, but at McDonald’s, customers attempting to place an order saw the AI upgrading burgers to value meals, menu items being multiplied, and other frustrating errors.
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Source Agencies
