Yum Brands announced today it is expanding its voice artificial intelligence technology to “hundreds” of Taco Bell drive-thru locations in the U.S. throughout the rest of this year. In a release, the company said its goal is to eventually expand the technology to its global system, which also includes KFC, Pizza Hut and The Habit Burger Grill brands.
The technology is currently deployed to more than 100 Taco Bell U.S. locations across 13 states. The test, which has been in place for about two years, has yielded improved order accuracy, speedier service, and profitable growth, according to the company. Yum also said system has created a better experience for both employees and customers.
“Innovation is ingrained in our DNA at Taco Bell, and we view voice AI as a means to improve the team member and consumer experiences,” chief digital and technology officer Dane Mathews said in a statement. “Tapping into AI gives us the ability to ease team members’ workloads, freeing them to focus on front-of[1]house hospitality. It also enables us to unlock new and meaningful ways to engage with our customers.”
The voice AI technology integrates with Yum’s proprietary point-of-sale system, called Poseidon, while Taco Bell’s rewards program will be integrated later this year.
“Yum Brands is integrating digital and technology into all aspects of our business with exciting new capabilities, and AI is a core piece of that strategy,” Yum chief innovation officer Lawrence Kim said in a statement. “We’re expanding and accelerating our AI capabilities like Voice AI to deliver leading-edge technologies to our franchisees and to enhance the consumer and team member experience. With over two years of fine tuning and testing the drive-thru Voice AI technology, we’re confident in its effectiveness in optimizing operations and enhancing customer satisfaction.”
In addition to the expansion of voice AI in the Taco Bell U.S. system, five KFC restaurants in Australia are testing the technology.
Yum Brands executives have been touting the company’s technology initiatives for years, including and especially its early adoption of artificial intelligence. In 2021, for instance, Yum acquired AI consumer insights company Kvantum, as well as Dragontail, which leverages AI to automate kitchen flow. The company also announced earlier this year that it is on track to have its Automated Inventory Management (AIM) system rolled out across the KFC U.S. system by the end of this year. The in-house-developed AI module predicts and suggests the quantity of each product a general manager should order. In the spring, executives shared that the company began testing voice AI at 30 locations in California.
All these initiatives have helped push Yum’s digital sales mix past 50%, and executives have shared on multiple occasions that the goal is to get to 100%. In April, Yum chief digital and technology officer Joe Park told the Wall Street Journal that the company nearly doubled its investments in digital, technology, and innovation capabilities in 2023.
With this announcement, Taco Bell joins a number of quick-service chains testing voice AI at the drive-thru, including Wendy’s, White Castle, Bojangles, Panera, Checkers/Rally’s, Del Taco, Taco John’s, and more. McDonald’s had also been testing the technology with IBM since 2021 but ended that test in June. That said, McDonald’s said at the time that the test “has given us the confidence that a voice ordering solution for drive-thru will be part of our restaurants’ future.”
Contact Alicia Kelso at [email protected]
