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August 1, 2024
How Much of an Impact Will AI Have on Fast Food?
Taco Bell is set to roll out AI speech technology at hundreds of its drive-thru locations across the U.S. by the end of the year, as announced by its parent company, Yum! Brands. This new technology will allow customers to place orders with a machine instead of a live employee, a shift aimed at improving order accuracy and reducing wait times.
Yum! Brands’ chief innovation officer, Lawrence Kim, expressed confidence in the AI system, which has already been implemented at 100 Taco Bell drive-thrus in 13 states. Kim told CNN that the technology has led to increased ordering accuracy, improved staff satisfaction, and shorter wait times. He emphasized that the AI is designed to support, not replace, employees, allowing them to focus on other priorities.
Kim also hinted at potential future applications of AI across other Yum! Brands restaurants, such as Pizza Hut, KFC, and The Habit Burger Grill, as the technology continues to evolve and improve.
“Our vision of [quick-service restaurants] is that an AI-first mentality works every step of the way. If you think about the major journeys within a restaurant that can be AI-powered, we believe it’s endless.”
Joe Park, Yum! Brands’ chief digital and technology manager, via the Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal explained in April how California’s new minimum wage law has many restaurant operators turning to AI to manage costs and boost sales. Yum! Brands’ SuperApp, which allows “restaurant managers to track and manage operations,” is testing generative AI to assist with tasks such as setting oven temperatures, purchasing ingredients, and managing employee shifts. Additionally, the app, used in over 8,700 Pizza Hut and KFC locations so far, plans to introduce augmented reality features to train staff on new menu items.
According to Foodindustry.com, Chipotle is leveraging AI and automation to handle “repetitive, time-consuming tasks more efficiently.” The company implemented a robot designed to make tortilla chips named Chippy as well as an AI-powered cooking system that guides staff on what to prepare and when. These innovations have cut down on food waste and boosted kitchen productivity.
In June, McDonald’s ended its AI-driven drive-thru ordering experiment with IBM, despite recognizing AI’s potential for the future. Although the exact reasons for terminating the partnership were unclear, reports of order inaccuracies and negative feedback on social media influenced this decision. Customers reported issues such as incorrect charges and poorly fulfilled orders, which highlighted the system’s flaws.
Other fast-food chains have continued to explore AI technologies, with companies like White Castle and Domino’s already integrating AI into their operations. White Castle, for instance, implemented AI voice recognition technology to improve drive-thru accuracy, while Domino’s used AI to optimize delivery routes. Meanwhile, Presto Automation, a provider of AI solutions, has faced financial and operational challenges, raising questions about the extent of automation and its impact on labor in the industry.
But AI will be used for more than just voice ordering. According to Forbes, fast-food restaurants will increase the use of automation and robotics, with a focus on using it for cooking and packaging food in the future. This approach aims to enhance efficiency, ensure consistent food preparation, and minimize human error. Additionally, fast-food chains recognize the potential of AI to meet the “growing customer demand for healthier options.” Per the outlet, “With growing health consciousness, AI could be used to create personalized, healthier meal options for customers based on their dietary preferences and restrictions.”
Discussion Questions
How might the integration of AI and robotics in fast food reshape the balance between human labor and automation, impacting job roles, employee satisfaction, and productivity?
What are the long-term implications for customer experience with the rise of AI in fast food, particularly regarding personalization and service consistency versus maintaining a human touch?
Given the varied outcomes of AI adoption in the fast-food industry, what should companies prioritize to ensure AI enhances efficiency while meeting customer expectations and industry standards for accuracy?
Poll
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Bob Phibbs
President/CEO, The Retail Doctor
Shep Hyken
Chief Amazement Officer, Shepard Presentations, LLC
John Hennessy
Retail and Brand Technology Tailor
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At present a lot of AI in fast food is confined to customer ordering. The quality of the experience is variable, but it will almost certainly improve over time. As AI progresses and is integrated more with robotics, I think we will see it take more of a role in production and distribution (both within restaurants and for home delivery). There will also be a role in for AI demand forecasting. Fast food is suited to automation because it consists of a largely set of standardized processes and relies on efficiency to deliver profit against tight margins. It is an ideal sector for disruption.
Perfect. “Fast food is suited to automation because it consists of a largely set of standardized processes and relies on efficiency to deliver profit against tight margins. It is an ideal sector for disruption. “
Amazing information. I really enjoyed reading this thread and the ongoing discussion around AI’s role in reshaping fast food operations. As someone who has followed fast food industry trends closely over the years, I’d like to refer menu site .
While it primarily focuses on detailed menus, prices, and ingredient transparency, it also helps users see how fast food chains are adapting—whether through tech innovations like AI, healthier options, or more personalized service.
For anyone looking to understand how customer experience and operational efficiency are evolving in the industry, it provides practical value beyond just what’s being served.
Hope everyone continues enjoying and contributing to this important conversation.
Right now, AI is learning to crawl and will be getting better and better so all the focus on the McDonald’s experiment is wrong. In highly repetitive tasks where a few set of variables can be controlled and optimized, they can yield great results for fast food. We value order accuracy and speed in fast food and in delivery. The danger comes from Retail execs reading this and figuring they could do the same thing in their stores. Just like self-serve, replacing humans and outfitting robots won’t work .
Insightful. “The danger comes from Retail execs reading this and figuring they could do the same thing in their stores. Just like self-serve, replacing humans and outfitting robots won’t work .”
The quick serve restaurant business is experimenting with various forms of automation, of which pizza-making robots and AI order-takers are just two.
For many franchisees, the chance to reduce some variable costs (read: wages) and improve service consistency is a chief appeal. In some markets, staff are in short supply. But these solutions do have capital and maintenance costs, and when they break, store personnel will still need to know how to carry on the old-fashioned way.
For the restaurant guests, I fear the trend toward AI tools, food prep robots and floor-cleaning automatons may eventually turn the fast-food emporia into so many giant vending machines, with zero human contact. An experience just as empty as their calories.
AI and automation are creeping into all industries. It makes sense that order-taking leads is becoming a popular use of AI, but accuracy is still needed. “Most of the time” isn’t good enough. It’s just a matter of time before the technology gets it right. Automation technology will help with consistency and efficiency. In addition, AI will help with ordering and inventory management. This is no different than any other business, however excess inventory leads to spoilage, which erodes profits.
Adding more AI and robots to the fast food industry will speed up operational processes and boost productivity. Employees may feel threatened that these technologies could eventually replace their roles. In the meantime, workers may welcome collaborative innovations if they help teams process long lines faster and more accurately.
Also, the growing adoption of mobile ordering and in-store kiosks gives fast food operators an abundance of data. Using AI to process this data will give restaurants new insights on general purchasing patterns as well as individual tastes, which they can apply to optimize operations and marketing.
AI will totally transform fast food: customers will no longer visit restaurants, or even eat, but rather access a virtual world where AI will interface with the the synapses of the “customer” to convince them that they had a great meal; and that they should leave an 18% tip. OK: August Fools! My gut reaction – no pun intended – is that ‘fast food’ is one of the industries less likely to be affected by it. Most of what we see in the industry has to do with automation – ordering kiosks, etc – not what most of us would call hi-tech.
It appears that AI is still in the early stages of development within the fast-food industry, primarily being utilized for customer ordering in robotic locations.
With the increasing pressure for higher wages in fast food and given that the current business model may not be sustainable with these higher wages, AI is expected to quickly take over tasks traditionally performed by humans.
As AI technology progresses, fast-food restaurants are likely to incorporate its functions not only for customer service but also for internal management. Db
Like any industry, there are thousands of AI applications to be tested and implemented in the fast-food industry. Several of these use cases will deliver time and dollar savings, but what will it do to the overall experience? Will it change the way the food tastes or what’s on the menu? Perhaps. But the use case that has some of the biggest upside is supply chain, where sophisticated AI-based algorithms can disrupt 30-year-old equations that reside in most of today’s software.
Imagine how margins will soar when we no longer have to staff restaurants with employees. Great for consumers, great for shareholders. Win for everyone, right? Who am I missing?
This is a normal transition of technology that affects any industry. The QSR is the ideal place for AI in the food service business. It does not need much creativity. Its “processes” are automated now by humans, and later, they will be by AI. The bottom line target is big. LABOR. But the benefits will be more far reaching. QSR is already a factory. They serve food.
Fast food depends on lower costs in a large part, so any technology that helps to keep cost low, especially in the face of Government intervention (read: $20 minimum wage) will be here, and will be given a full chance to live up to its alleged potential. So yes, get reacy for robots that flip burgers, cashier less checkout and many more “innovations”…
AI and robots are shaking up fast food by changing the mix of human jobs and automation. They take over repetitive tasks like cooking and order-taking, cutting down on low-skilled roles and boosting demand for tech-savvy positions. Robots work fast and accurately, cutting down errors and speeding up order times, especially during busy hours. This boosts efficiency but also means some low-skilled workers might be displaced. While investing in AI and robots costs a lot upfront, it saves money in the long run through lower labor costs and higher productivity.
Ultimately, we’ll see a blend of humans and robots working together. As technology keeps advancing, ongoing learning and adaptation will be key. Investing in employee training ensures a smooth transition, balancing tech benefits with workforce needs.
Using the Gartner Technology Hype Cycle, I would place AI somewhere between the Peak of Inflated Expectations and the Trough of Disillusionment.
There is a lot of promise but a lot of work left to be done. The restaurant industry is an excellent candidate for early AI success. The datasets are fairly small. Training is easier.
I would not see pulling back as failure but as a realization that maybe a model wasn’t trained properly or the data used was incomplete. These issues will be fixed.
The other challenge AI has to achieve success is a limited pool of skilled practitioners. The pitch is that AI is super easy. Just ask a question and get the right answer. The reality is that any AI system is only as good as the data and training used. That requires skilled practitioners. And time to train.