Over the past few years, many US restaurants have invested in embedding AI technology into their drive-thru service, as they believe it can reduce the burden on staff and solve the increased customer traffic.

But customers and workers may not be so enthusiastic about the technology.

Some frustrated customers have already documented AI errors in taking their orders, while experts warn that the noisy environment in drive-thru lanes presents a challenging environment for the technology, and AI could save hours or even entire jobs in the fast-food business.

But whether we like it or not, restaurants are moving ahead with embedding AI, driven by promises of higher sales and faster drive-thru orders.

Challenging environment

Starting around 2021, large restaurant chains are testing AI tools like automated voice ordering, where an AI takes your order while you’re driving, not a person.

Those efforts intensified recently with two announcements in May, and CKE Restaurants — the group that owns Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. — said it was rolling out an option to order using artificial intelligence on a large scale after a successful trial.

Soon after, Wendy’s expanded its partnership with Google Cloud to include an AI-powered ordering tool. The chain is launching the program in Columbus, Ohio this month.

Even technology suppliers note the challenges of implementing this technology in the fast food industry.

“You might think that getting a vehicle to drive and talk is an easy problem for AI, but it’s actually a tough one,” Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian told the Wall Street Journal.

Christina McAllister, senior analyst at research firm Forrester, which studies the impact of using artificial intelligence in call centers, said speech recognition technology “represents a real challenge.” On the other hand, different accents can disable the system, and “the system doesn’t work as efficiently in noisy weather,” he notes, because ordering or laughing from a car full of children can confuse the technology. Customer disturbance.

“One of the things that frustrates customers the most is repeating themselves when it’s not necessary,” he added, and those customers may vent their anger on the next employee they see.

Of every 10 orders placed by customers at White Castle, an AI-powered drive-thru restaurant in Indiana, three asked to speak to a human employee, either in error or wanting to speak to someone, according to the Wall Street Journal.

However, as the AI ​​naturally improves as it collects more data, the experience improves as the tools receive more requests and learn to recognize voices better.

For companies, a quick start is worth the potential boost to sales.

Increase sales with artificial intelligence

One of the main benefits of using AI to order from a drive-thru is that it leads to higher customer spending, according to Bresno Automation, an AI company that works with restaurants.

Presto describes on its website that “the perfect sale” can be designed based on assessments of weather conditions, time of day, order or customer’s order history.

“Researchers believe that the average time it takes to order from a drive-thru using artificial intelligence and digital methods alone can be accelerated by at least 20-30 percent, improving the competitive advantage of restaurants in light of the current digital culture,” published a research note. Bernstein in March.

Restaurants with fewer employees may look to AI as a way to fill that gap, and while the restaurant industry has added jobs in recent months, the entertainment and hospitality industry lost 349,000 jobs in May compared to February 2020, and some restaurants are still struggling. Find out from the staff.

During that period, as the pandemic prompted customers to use their cars in greater numbers, food trends changed, and some retained the habit, which helped reduce the time spent ordering from the car.

Wendy’s CEO Todd Pennigor says that with artificial intelligence, “workers can focus on preparing and shipping food faster than taking orders.”

Young Suk Lee, an assistant professor of technology, economics and global affairs at the University of Notre Dame, said adopting new technology could mean fewer jobs or part-time jobs for employees.

(Daniel Weiner Brunner, CNN)