March 25, 2025
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Will AI Voice Ordering at Drive-Thrus Become Commonplace?
Yum! Brands, the parent of Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut, announced a partnership with NVIDIA that will enable AI agents to soon take drive-thru orders at 500 Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC locations.
At NVIDIA’s GTC conference, the chipmaker’s annual developer conference, Joe Park, chief digital and technology officer of Yum! Brands, said AI promises to improve order accuracy while ensuring consistent and positive interactions. According to the Los Angeles Times, Park said AI could improve the customer experience because “the voice AI is always positive, has the right tone of voice, has the right word selection, [and] can upsell consistently.”
AI also has the potential to reduce wait times. Park told Axios that AI can help count the number of cars and send alerts to staff. He said, “If our restaurant knows that there are four or five cars in line, they can then possibly suggest different items to customers that have a quicker turnaround time so that we could speed up the line.”
A 2024 drive-thru study by Intouch Insight found that, on average, customers spend 5 minutes and 29 seconds completing their orders in a drive-thru. The research, which analyzed shoppers’ experiences at fast-food drive-thrus, revealed that AI technology was used in just 4% of visits. However, those AI-assisted orders were completed 29 seconds faster than the overall average.
Digital sales last year represented over half of Yum! Brands’ sales in 2024, up from only 19% in 2019.
Other fast-food chains are ramping up experiments with conversational AI.
McDonald’s, in partnership with Google, will introduce AI across all stores, aiming to improve order accuracy, staff efficiency, and customer satisfaction, according to The Wall Street Journal. McDonald’s ended a pilot AI program last July after videos of drive-thru customers struggling to use the restaurant’s Automated Order Taker went viral online. Under Google’s setup, computer vision will use in-store cameras to verify the accuracy of orders before they reach the customer.
During a Feb. 13 earnings call, Wendy’s CEO Kirk Tanner said the burger chain will deploy its voice-enabled AI — called FreshAI — to take orders at up to 600 restaurants nationwide after a test at nearly 100 locations. Tanner said that FreshAI “improves the customer experience and enables some labor efficiencies in our restaurants.”
Todd Kelly, COO of Diversified Restaurant Group, one of Taco Bell’s largest franchise partners, told QSR Magazine last year that one of the biggest benefits of voice AI is delivering a consistent experience.
“The voice AI doesn’t have a bad day,” said Kelly. “They’re not in a bad mood when they come to work. They don’t get hungry. They don’t need a cigarette break or whatever. They keep plugging away.”
Similar to responses after Wendy’s announced plans to expand AI-voice usage, Yum! Brands’ announcement led to negative comments on social media about the loss of human jobs and impatience around having to engage with robots, according to USA Today.
BrainTrust
Nolan Wheeler
Founder and CEO, SYNQ
John Hennessy
Retail and Brand Technology Tailor
Richard Hernandez
Merchant Director
Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
Do you see more benefits than drawbacks in the use of conversational AI for taking drive-thru orders?
What tactics could offset or soften backlash from fast-food customers?
Poll
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When the AI drive-thru experience feels the same as the traditional human experience, it will be accepted. For the customer, it has to feel the same and mistakes shouldn’t be any more (hopefully less) than the live experience. There should always be someone to support and help a customer when the ordering system fails. I’ll emphasize, the key is for AI-fueled ordering systems to feel the same as the experience the customer has been used to in the past.
Based upon long wait times, muffled voices, and incorrect orders, there’s really nowhere to go but up with AI for drive-throughs. The question is whether it’s AI-assisted or AI-driven, and how much human intervention/review/correction is necessary.
I really can’t see this, right now, especially when orders have exceptions or customers want to stray from the normal menu. I think they will still need human intervention, especially if AI doesn’t pick up the order after a fixed amount of tries.
Drive-thru ordering is a great use case for AI. It’s a pretty light lift for AI to sort through possible order combinations and exchange order information quickly, clearly and consistently with the guest.
Anything that results in a clear exchange of information at a drive-thru would be an improvement. Drive-thru ordering is sometimes a game of, “What’s in the bag?!”
Even AI-enabled drive-thru ordering will suffer if the audio system is sub-par. Invest in decent speakers and microphones.
The short answer is if it works as well (or better than) ordering with a human then there is no reason that it won’t see more widespread adoption. The key here is not just being able to deal with simple orders but also more complex queries and customizations.
People still encounter maddening automated attendants who can’t understand anything, leading them to shout “OPERATOR!” repeatedly. I hope that doesn’t happen when I attempt to order a cheeseburger.
This. I hate it when you do it on the phone and it doesn’t take you to a human, but rather it hangs you up.
While conversational AI can streamline the order-taking process and reduce wait times, there are potential drawbacks to consider. AI systems may struggle with understanding diverse accents or handling complex, customized orders, leading to customer frustration. Additionally, technical malfunctions or system errors could disrupt service and negatively impact the customer experience.
Implementing a robust customer support team available for immediate assistance can help address issues that arise from AI shortcomings. Providing staff with extensive training on how to handle AI-related problems and offering quick resolutions can build customer trust. Additionally, gathering and analyzing customer feedback on their interactions with AI can lead to continuous improvements and ensure a smoother experience.
W. Edwards Deming once observed “The greatest waste in America is failure to use the abilities of people”. Any drive-thru which eliminates the potential advantages of humans taking orders will deserve the mediocrity they develop.
Upvote for the Dr. Deming reference! Feels like everything he taught has been totally forgotten as PE swept in and decimated the knowledge base of industry after industry.
Drive thrus are transactional engagements and will greatly benefit from the accuracy, consistency and speed of AI. They will be able to adjust volume for senior customers, alert staff for operational efficiencies during longer wait time periods and collect data along the way. I see this as a huge win for both buyer and seller.
AI has a lot of potential for drive-thrus, especially since many customers prioritize speed and efficiency. We’re seeing more retail businesses adopting AI-powered tools, and as long as it improves operations and keeps customers happy, AI will continue to gain popularity. I think the key for drive-thrus will be ensuring it doesn’t change the ordering experience too much for customers.
How long will it be before there is no one working in a fast food restaurant? Sorry-Quick service restaurant. AI ordering is simply one more step toward that future. And, yes, the customer experience will suffer, up until the point where we get used to it. Then it will still stink, but customers will not notice it because the bar will have been successfully lowered.
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When the AI drive-thru experience feels the same as the traditional human experience, it will be accepted. For the customer, it has to feel the same and mistakes shouldn’t be any more (hopefully less) than the live experience. There should always be someone to support and help a customer when the ordering system fails. I’ll emphasize, the key is for AI-fueled ordering systems to feel the same as the experience the customer has been used to in the past.
Based upon long wait times, muffled voices, and incorrect orders, there’s really nowhere to go but up with AI for drive-throughs. The question is whether it’s AI-assisted or AI-driven, and how much human intervention/review/correction is necessary.
I really can’t see this, right now, especially when orders have exceptions or customers want to stray from the normal menu. I think they will still need human intervention, especially if AI doesn’t pick up the order after a fixed amount of tries.
Drive-thru ordering is a great use case for AI. It’s a pretty light lift for AI to sort through possible order combinations and exchange order information quickly, clearly and consistently with the guest.
Anything that results in a clear exchange of information at a drive-thru would be an improvement. Drive-thru ordering is sometimes a game of, “What’s in the bag?!”
Even AI-enabled drive-thru ordering will suffer if the audio system is sub-par. Invest in decent speakers and microphones.
The short answer is if it works as well (or better than) ordering with a human then there is no reason that it won’t see more widespread adoption. The key here is not just being able to deal with simple orders but also more complex queries and customizations.
People still encounter maddening automated attendants who can’t understand anything, leading them to shout “OPERATOR!” repeatedly. I hope that doesn’t happen when I attempt to order a cheeseburger.
This. I hate it when you do it on the phone and it doesn’t take you to a human, but rather it hangs you up.
While conversational AI can streamline the order-taking process and reduce wait times, there are potential drawbacks to consider. AI systems may struggle with understanding diverse accents or handling complex, customized orders, leading to customer frustration. Additionally, technical malfunctions or system errors could disrupt service and negatively impact the customer experience.
Implementing a robust customer support team available for immediate assistance can help address issues that arise from AI shortcomings. Providing staff with extensive training on how to handle AI-related problems and offering quick resolutions can build customer trust. Additionally, gathering and analyzing customer feedback on their interactions with AI can lead to continuous improvements and ensure a smoother experience.
W. Edwards Deming once observed “The greatest waste in America is failure to use the abilities of people”. Any drive-thru which eliminates the potential advantages of humans taking orders will deserve the mediocrity they develop.
Upvote for the Dr. Deming reference! Feels like everything he taught has been totally forgotten as PE swept in and decimated the knowledge base of industry after industry.
Drive thrus are transactional engagements and will greatly benefit from the accuracy, consistency and speed of AI. They will be able to adjust volume for senior customers, alert staff for operational efficiencies during longer wait time periods and collect data along the way. I see this as a huge win for both buyer and seller.
AI has a lot of potential for drive-thrus, especially since many customers prioritize speed and efficiency. We’re seeing more retail businesses adopting AI-powered tools, and as long as it improves operations and keeps customers happy, AI will continue to gain popularity. I think the key for drive-thrus will be ensuring it doesn’t change the ordering experience too much for customers.
How long will it be before there is no one working in a fast food restaurant? Sorry-Quick service restaurant. AI ordering is simply one more step toward that future. And, yes, the customer experience will suffer, up until the point where we get used to it. Then it will still stink, but customers will not notice it because the bar will have been successfully lowered.