AI for Fast Food Ordering? Yum Brands, the parent company of Taco Bell, announces AI voice system expansion globally

Will working physically in a fast-food restaurant to earn money also face the threat of AI? The United States' Taco Bell, a chain of Mexican fast-food restaurants, is set to fully adopt AI voice ordering machines on a large scale, allowing customers to drive up to the restaurant window for self-service ordering instead of manual ordering.

According to Nation’s Restaurant News report, Yum Brands, the parent company of Taco Bell, stated that by the end of this year, they will deploy several hundred AI voice ordering systems for testing.

Yum Brands released a press release on July 31st announcing preparations to deploy AI voice ordering machines to several hundred Taco Bell chain stores in the United States by the end of the year, with the ultimate goal of expanding the entire system globally. This system will be adopted by their four major brands including Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, and The Habit Burger Grill. Yum Brands stated that the testing has been ongoing for about two years, not only improving order accuracy, but also speeding up service and achieving profit growth, creating a better experience for employees and customers while accelerating the serving time.

AI Voice Integrates with POS Ordering System and Customer Rewards Program

AI is a friend and partner in work and will not replace human work in fast-food restaurants. Taco Bell states that using AI Voice voice system can reduce the workload of team members, allowing them to focus on front-end reception work. "It" also allows us to open up new, meaningful ways to interact with customers. AI Voice combines Taco Bell's exclusive Poseidon POS ordering system and loyalty rewards program, using data, feedback, and insights analysis to enhance relationships with consumers, creating a seamless customer consumption experience. Taco Bell sees innovation as the DNA of the brand, and AI Voice is a strategic move.

Yum Brands heavily promotes the use of AI voice ordering in Taco Bell in the United States to enhance interaction between customers and restaurant team members.

Yum Brands Drives Revenue with AI Systems

Yum Brands' senior management has been promoting artificial intelligence. In 2021, Yum Brands acquired consumer AI data analytics company Kvantum and utilized artificial intelligence to achieve kitchen process automation through Dragontail. It was also announced that by the end of this year, the AIM inventory management system will be extended to KFC stores in the United States, and the internally developed AI module can predict and recommend the quantity of products to order.

Joe Park, Chief Digital and Technology Officer of Yum Brands, told The Wall Street Journal that the company's investment in digital, technology, and innovation has almost doubled.

Yum Brands achieved a new milestone last year, with annual revenue reaching $30 billion through digital systematization in 2023. Over 50% of first-quarter revenue in 2024 comes from digital sales channels, which also drive profitability growth for franchise-owned stores.

Customers Test AI Voice Ordering Machines

Experts drove into a Taco Bell drive-thru for testing and found the experience to be good. AI understood most of their needs and could help customize orders, such as adding personal requests like extra spiciness or modifying the contents of the order in the cart. The interface design is excellent, making it very easy to select items on the screen, and it even asks customers if they would like to donate to charities and join loyalty rewards programs.

Learning to Understand Human Speech

Even if someone stutters or has an accent, AI can learn to understand what they are ordering. For those who enjoy international cuisine, the ordering experience is smoother.

Joe Park, Chief Digital and Technology Officer of Yum Brands, said:

Quesadilla Is it pronounced as kay-sah-dee-ya or kay-sah-dill-uh? Taco Bell is reducing communication issues between customers and staff in Drive-Through fast-food restaurants by expanding AI voice learning technology.

AI voice not only listens but understands what you are saying. It learns and adapts to the customer's way of speaking, including different accents, dialects, and variations in speech to improve accuracy. Australian KFC is also using drive-thru test voice AI technology, which is welcomed by team members as it allows them more time to prepare food and provide a good experience for our customers.

AI voice systems not only speak but also adapt to human accents and habits through machine learning. Even if one does not speak Spanish or comes from a different country and cultural background, unable to pronounce the exotic dishes on the menu accurately, AI can recognize the items through machine learning. In the past, the most awkward thing about using AI was that it did not understand what you were saying, especially when foreign languages were involved. The new AI voice system will help avoid feelings of inferiority when machines do not understand what you are saying!

Many Drive-Through restaurants are testing AI Voice, including Wendy's, White Castle, and others. McDonald's also tested AI voice ordering with IBM in 2021, and although it ended later, McDonald's stated that the test results show that combining Drive-Through with AI intelligent voice ordering will be a necessary measure for the future of restaurants.