Chatbots while driving are just the beginning

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In 2021, McDonald’s became one of the first major fast food chains to greet customers using an AI-powered chatbot while driving. It started small, rolling out voice ordering technology to 10 of its Chicago locations. McDonald’s developed its drive-thru ordering technology after acquiring Apprente, a startup focused on voice-based conversational technology, in 2019, and later worked with IBM to expand automated ordering.

This was just the beginning of our AI driving journey. Checkers and Rally’s has teamed up with artificial intelligence company Presto to place a chatbot in all company-owned malls in the United States in 2022, with the goal of selling more food and beverages to customers and improving order accuracy. The company also said the technology will “free up employees for more people-driven areas of their business.”

Wendy’s and Taco Bell followed suit. In 2023, Wendy’s launched its “FreshAI” chatbot at one of its malls in Columbus, Ohio in 2023. The company worked with Google to develop an AI chatbot that was trained in franchise language, so it understood that a “milkshake” was a “Frosty” and a “JBC” was a “mini bacon cheeseburger.” Wendy’s began expanding the technology months after its launch, saying it received orders correctly without employee intervention 86 percent of the time.

Taco Bell was testing Voice AI while driving around the same time, and later announced plans to expand the technology to hundreds of locations in the US by the end of 2024. Similar to other fast food chains, Taco Bell floated the idea as a way to reduce task burden on employees and cut drive-thru wait times. Other chains have begun experimenting with the technology as well, including Panera Bread, White Castle, Carl’s Jr., Hardee’s, Panda Express and Popeyes.

By now, you’ve probably come across at least one AI chatbot at one of your local fast food chains. I spoke to a Checkers store, where someone quickly took over after I was told that one of the sandwiches I tried to order was out of stock. Even as companies continue to expand their use of AI, customers aren’t exactly impressed.

A January 2025 YouGov poll found that 55 percent of Americans prefer to have a human take their order while ordering, compared to 21 percent who had no preference, and 4 percent who prefer to use an AI-powered chatbot. This generally lukewarm response may have an impact on some franchises, as McDonald’s ends its partnership with IBM in 2024. One year later, Dane Matthews, Taco Bell’s chief digital officer, said: The Wall Street Journal It is re-evaluating its deployment of artificial intelligence after customers expressed their frustration on social media and trolled the technology by ordering 18,000 cups of water. Some people suggest issuing similar commands or speaking a different language just to bypass the technology and speak to a human operator.

Customer frustration is not the only obstacle the AI ​​engine faces; Their credibility is also a problem. Last year, the Securities and Exchange Commission accused Presto — the company that powers the AI ​​payment service at Checkers, Rally’s, Carl’s Jr., Hardee’s, and now Dairy Queen — of misleading customers about the capabilities of its technology. In 2023, a Securities and Exchange Commission filing revealed that human workers in the Philippines interfered with most orders received by Presto’s AI system.

Fast food chains are taking AI beyond just ordering food. Nevertheless The Wall Street Journal McDonald’s is reportedly giving AI-powered driving a second chance, and is also exploring other ways to leverage the technology, including a system that predicts when its equipment will break down (like the ice cream machine that always seems to be out of service). The company also uses AI-powered scales to compare an order’s target weight versus its actual weight, then alert employees if something is missing, which could help workers remember to fill your bag with fries.

Burger King, which is conducting limited testing of drive-thru AI, announced in February that it had trialled an AI assistant, called Patti, that lives inside employees’ headphones. Workers can chat with the AI ​​assistant if they need help preparing food, for example if they forget how many slices of bacon to put on a Texas Double Whopper. At the same time, Patty listens to employees to evaluate their trustworthiness. This means tracking whether they say “Welcome to Burger King,” “Please,” and “Thank you.” Burger King is also using AI to notify managers when a machine is down for maintenance or if an item is out of stock, as well as to remove affected items from the digital menu board.

Taco Bell is experimenting with an AI-driven menu board as well. But instead of just using AI to remove items from the list, it will use the technology to “dynamically change the design, content and visuals on a car-by-car basis,” said Ranjith Roy, Yum!’s chief financial officer. Parent company of Taco Bell, during the company’s most recent earnings call. Roy didn’t expand on this, but it sounds like it might allow Taco Bell to adjust what’s on the menu based on customers opting out.

Other uses of artificial intelligence are also gaining momentum. Culver’s and Zaxbys are working with a company called Berry AI to place camera timers while you drive to capture data about traffic flow, service fulfillment and more. Berry AI says its technology reduces service time during a drive by 20 to 40 percent. It looks like more fast food chains may start deploying AI technology that’s less risky than an AI chatbot at the drive-thru window, whether that’s menu changes you don’t notice, or a scale that measures your bag of food before it’s delivered to you — at least until these companies perfect their chatbot technology.