Taco Bell’s drive-thru AI might take your next order

Your adjacent Taco Bell drive-thru bid mightiness beryllium handled by AI — and an AI whitethorn person helped you get a Chalupa already. Parent institution Yum! Brands has been investigating its “Voice AI” exertion astatine much than 100 Taco Bell drive-thru successful the US, and present Yum! aims to bring the exertion to “hundreds” of Taco Bell stores by the extremity of the year, according to a property release.

Yum! is pitching the AI tech arsenic a mode to easiness task load for staffers, amended bid accuracy, and trim hold times — all, of course, portion “driving profitable maturation for Taco Bell, Yum! Brands and their franchisees.” But the accelerated nutrient industry’s experiments with AI person had mixed results truthful far: while Wendy’s has been thrilled with its tests, McDonald’s precocious pulled backmost its plans.

There are much than 7,400 Taco Bell stores successful the US, truthful this volition inactive beryllium a tiny rollout. The archetypal tests astatine much than 100 stores person been going connected for astir 2 years, Bloomberg reports. Yum! is besides bringing Voice AI to 5 KFC restaurants successful Australia.