Current:Home > InvestAI might take your next Taco Bell drive-thru order as artificial intelligence expands-DB Wealth Institute B2 Reviews & Ratings
AI might take your next Taco Bell drive-thru order as artificial intelligence expands
lotradecoin developer API documentation View Date:2024-12-26 01:34:10
The next time you pull up to a Taco Bell for a Mexican pizza or a Crunchwrap Supreme, there's a good chance that a computer – not a person – will be taking your order.
Taco Bell's parent company Yum! Brands announced Wednesday that it plans to expand its use of artificial intelligence voice technology to hundreds more drive-thru locations in the U.S. by the end of the year.
The fast-food chain has already been experimenting with AI at more than 100 locations in 13 states, and Yum! Brands said it's found that the technology frees up staff for other tasks and also improves order accuracy.
“Tapping into AI gives us the ability to ease team members’ workloads, freeing them to focus on front-of-house hospitality," Dane Mathews, Taco Bell chief digital and technology officer, said in a statement. "It also enables us to unlock new and meaningful ways to engage with our customers.”
Here's what to know about the AI voice technology, and what other fast-food chains have also tried it.
Amazon sales:When Amazon sells dangerous items, it's responsible for recalling them, feds rule
AI voice tech could take your Taco Bell drive-thru order
If your local Taco Bell is one of the locations targeted for the AI upgrade, you may soon notice you have a different experience when you order at the drive-thru.
Rather than a human employee taking your order, you may find yourself instead talking to a computer.
But are customers who struggle to correctly pronounce some of the items on Taco Bell's menu destined to receive the wrong food?
Apparently not, according to Yum!’s chief innovation officer Lawrence Kim. Kim told CNN that the AI model has been trained to understand various accents and pronunciations from customers – even if they pronounce quesadilla like “kay-suh-DILL-uh."
Kim also told CNN that the AI ordering technology, which should one day be implemented globally, would not replace human jobs.
McDonald's, Wendy's, more have tested AI drive-thrus
Plenty of other fast-food chains have similarly gotten into the artificial intelligence game as a way to ease the workload on their employees and alleviate lengthy drive-thru lines.
Wendy's similarly introduced AI voice technology as part of a pilot program that began in June 2023, as has Carl's Jr. and Hardee's.
But the technology hasn't been always worked seamlessly.
At McDonald's, customers have took to social media to share videos of the mishaps they encountered, including an order of nine sweet teas for one woman, and a seemingly endless order of chicken nuggets for another, despite her protests to stop.
In June, McDonald's announced that the chain would stop using artificial intelligence to take drive-thru orders by the end of July after struggling to integrate the technology. However, reports indicated that the franchise aims to have a better plan to implement voice order technology by the end of the year.
Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]
veryGood! (415)
Related
- Lady Gaga’s Brunette Hair Transformation Will Have You Applauding
- Who is Robert Card? Man wanted for questioning in Maine mass shooting
- Will Ivanka Trump have to testify at her father’s civil fraud trial? Judge to hear arguments Friday
- NFL Week 8 picks: Buccaneers or Bills in battle of sliding playoff hopefuls?
- Judge tells Google to brace for shakeup of Android app store as punishment for running a monopoly
- US strikes back at Iranian-backed groups who attacked troops in Iraq, Syria: Pentagon
- Residents shelter in place as manhunt intensifies following Lewiston, Maine, mass shooting
- Driver in Malibu crash that killed 4 Pepperdine students pleads not guilty to murder
- Alabama Supreme Court authorizes third nitrogen gas execution
- NHL suspends Ottawa Senators' Shane Pinto half a season for violating sports wagering rules
Ranking
- Oklahoma city approves $7M settlement for man wrongfully imprisoned for decades
- An Indianapolis police officer and a suspect shoot each other
- Slammed by interest rates, many Americans can't afford their car payments
- Stolen bases, batting average are up in first postseason with MLB's new rules
- Hideki Matsuyama will be without regular caddie, coach after their passports and visas were stolen
- Newcastle player Tonali banned from soccer for 10 months in betting probe. He will miss Euro 2024
- Cost of repairs and renovations adds thousands of dollars to homeownership
- Judge says Georgia’s congressional and legislative districts are discriminatory and must be redrawn
Recommendation
-
Demi Lovato opens up about how 'daddy issues' led her to chase child stardom, success
-
Wisconsin Republicans back bill outlawing race- and diversity-based university financial aid
-
'Fellow Travelers' is an 'incredibly sexy' gay love story. It also couldn't be timelier.
-
Pedro Argote, suspect in killing of Maryland judge, found dead
-
US Army intelligence analyst pleads guilty to selling military secrets to China
-
Carjacking call led police to chief’s son who was wanted in officers’ shooting. He died hours later
-
FBI part of Michigan Police's investigation on fired Michigan football assistant Matt Weiss
-
Powerball winning numbers from Oct. 25 drawing: Jackpot now at $125 million