Taco Bell to expand AI tech at drive-thrus

Taco Bell customers across the U.S. might soon notice a difference in their drive-thru experience.

The fast food chain’s parent company, Yum! Brands, on Wednesday announced that it will be expanding its own artificial intelligence voice technology, dubbed Voice AI, to hundreds of Taco Bell drive-thrus throughout the U.S. by the end of the year.

Yum! Brands says it is expanding its AI-powered voice technology at Taco Bell drive-thrus in the U.S. (Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images / Getty Images)

“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’s 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.”

Kim said the company has been testing out Voice AI for more than two years now, and feels confident about rolling it out in more stores. The technology is currently already utilized at around 100 Taco Bell locations in the U.S., spanning 13 states.

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Yum, which also owns Pizza Hut and KFC, says it has also been testing Voice AI at five KFC locations in Australia, and has so far received positive feedback there on its use.

Yum! Brands said it is testing its Voice AI tech at five KFC restaurants in Australia. (Aaron M. Sprecher/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Yum’s broader use of Voice AI comes shortly after rival McDonald’s shut down its own version of AI ordering technology after a testing phase.

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McDonald’s began testing an AI-powered drive-thru order taking program starting in 2021, through a partnership with IBM, that was utilized in around 100 restaurants. But the fast-food giant reportedly told franchisees in June that it would be shutting off use of the technology at all stores by July 26.

McDonald’s recently pulled the plug on its AI-powered drive-thru ordering system. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images / Getty Images)

In a memo obtained by Restaurant Business magazine, McDonald’s USA Chief Restaurant Officer Mason Smoot told franchisees, “While there have been successes to date, we feel there is an opportunity to explore voice ordering solutions more broadly,” noting that the company will make “an informed decision on a future voice ordering solution by the end of the year.” 

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