If you want to make money by doing manual labor in a fast food restaurant, will you also face the threat of AI? Taco Bell, a fast-food chain of Mexican taco restaurants in the United States, will soon use AI Voice ordering machines to allow customers to order by self-service instead of manual ordering when they drive into the fast-food restaurant window.

According to Nation’s Restaurant News, Taco Bell’s parent company Yum Brands said it will deploy hundreds more AI voice ordering system machines for testing before the end of this year.

Yum Brands issued a press release on July 31 announcing that it will deploy AI voice ordering machines to hundreds of Taco Bell store chains in the United States by the end of the year. The ultimate goal is to expand the entire system to the world, including its Taco Bell and KFC stores. , Pizza Hut and The Habit Burger Grill will all use the same system. Yum said the test, which has been running for about two years, has not only improved order accuracy, but also accelerated service and profit growth, created a better experience for employees and customers, and accelerated meal times.

AI Voice combines POS ordering system and customer reward program

AI is a friend to work partners and will not replace human jobs in fast food restaurants. Taco Bell said that using the AI ​​Voice voice system can reduce the workload of team members, allowing them to focus on reception work at the front desk. "It" also enables us to unlock new and meaningful ways to interact with customers. AI Voice combines Taco Bell’s exclusive Poseidon POS ordering system and loyalty rewards program to use data, feedback and insight analysis to enhance relationships with consumers and create a seamless customer experience. Taco Bell regards innovation as the DNA of the brand soul, and AI Voice is a strategy.​

Yum! significantly promotes Taco Bell's use of AI voice ordering in the United States to enhance interaction between customers and restaurant team members.

Yum makes big push for artificial intelligence system to boost sales

Executives at Yum! Brands have been promoting artificial intelligence. In 2021, Yum acquired Kvantum, a consumer AI data analysis company, and Dragontail, which uses artificial intelligence to automate kitchen processes. At the same time, it was announced that the automatic inventory management AIM system is expected to be rolled out to KFC stores in the United States by the end of this year. The internally developed artificial intelligence module can predict and recommend the quantity of products to be ordered.

Yum! Chief Digital and Technology Officer Joe Park told the Wall Street Journal that the company has nearly doubled its investments in digital, technology and innovation.

Yum reached a new milestone last year. Through digital systemization, its full-year revenue in 2023 will reach US$30 billion. In the first quarter of 2024, more than 50% of its revenue will come from digital sales channels. Digital systems also drive franchise sales. Profit growth of directly operated stores.

Customer actual test AI Voice ordering machine

Experts drove into the Taco Bell drive-thru lane for actual testing and found that the experience was very good. The AI ​​understood most of his needs and could also help customize meals, such as adding personal needs, such as requesting more spicy, and modifying shopping. Car order content. The interface is well designed and it is very easy to click on the meals on the screen. It also asks customers if they are willing to donate money to charity and join the loyalty reward program.

It learns how to understand human speech

Even if you stutter or have non-standard pronunciation, AI can learn to understand what you want to order. For those who like to eat exotic cuisine, the ordering experience will be smoother.

Joe Park, chief digital and technology officer at Yum! said:

Is Quesadilla corn fritters pronounced kay-sah-dee-ya or kay-sah-dill-uh? Taco Bell is reducing the miscommunication between customers and staff when ordering food at drive-through fast-food restaurants by extending its artificial intelligence voice learning technology.

Voice AI doesn’t just listen, it understands what you are saying. It learns and adapts to the way customers speak, including different accents, dialects and phonetic inflections to improve accuracy. KFC Australia is also trialling voice AI technology in its drive-thru, with the new technology being welcomed by team members as it gives them more time to prepare food and provide a great experience for our customers.

The AI ​​voice system not only speaks, but also adapts to human accents and habits through machine learning. Even if you don't speak Spanish or come from other countries and cultural backgrounds, you won't be able to accurately pronounce the exotic food on the menu. Point, AI can identify food and beverage items through machine learning. The most embarrassing thing about using AI in the past is that the AI ​​cannot understand what it is saying, especially when it needs to be pronounced in a foreign language. The new artificial intelligence voice system will prevent humans from feeling inferior because machines cannot understand what they say!

Many drive-through restaurants are testing AI Voice, including Wendy’s, White Castle, and more. McDonald's also cooperated with IBM in testing in 2021. Although it ended later, McDonald's said that the test results showed that drive-thru combined with AI smart voice ordering will be a necessary measure for the restaurant in the future.

This article uses AI for fast food ordering? Taco Bell parent company Yum Brands announces that AI voice system will expand globally first appeared on Chain News ABMedia.