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Taco Bell customers across the U.S. may soon see a change in their drive-thru experience.
Yum Brands, the fast-food chain’s parent company, said Wednesday it will roll out its artificial intelligence voice technology, Voice AI, to hundreds of Taco Bell drive-thrus across the U.S. by the end of the year.
Yum Brands announced it is expanding its AI-powered voice technology to Taco Bell drive-thrus in the US and is testing it in some KFC locations in Australia. (Mike Kemp/Photo by Getty Images/Getty Images)
“Yum Brands is integrating digital and technology into every aspect of our business with exciting new capabilities, and AI is at the core of that strategy,” Yum’s chief innovation officer Lawrence Kim said in a statement. “We’re expanding and accelerating our AI capabilities, including voice AI, to provide cutting-edge technology to our franchisees and enhance the experience for consumers and team members.”
Kim said the company has been testing voice AI for more than two years and is confident about rolling it out to more stores. The technology is currently in use in about 100 Taco Bell locations across 13 states.
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Yum, which also owns Pizza Hut and KFC, is also testing voice AI in five KFC restaurants in Australia and says it has received positive feedback about its use so far.
Yum Brands has announced that it is testing voice AI technology in five KFC restaurants in Australia. (Aaron M. Sprecher/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
| Ticker | safety | last | change | change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| delicious | Yum Brands Inc. | 133.48 | +1.29 |
+0.98% |
Yum’s widespread use of voice AI comes shortly after rival McDonald’s shut down its own AI ordering technology after a testing phase.
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McDonald’s began testing an AI-based drive-thru order-taking program in 2021 through a partnership with IBM, and it is being used in about 100 restaurants. However, the fast-food giant reportedly told franchisees in June that it would stop using the technology in all of its restaurants by July 26, 2024.
McDonald’s recently discontinued its AI-powered drive-thru ordering system. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images/Getty Images)
| Ticker | safety | last | change | change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MCCD | McDonald’s Co., Ltd. | 265.80 | -0.72 |
-0.27% |
In a memo obtained by Restaurant Business magazine, McDonald’s U.S. chief restaurant officer Mason Smoot told franchisees that “while we have seen success to date, we feel there is an opportunity to explore voice ordering solutions more broadly,” and that the company will “make an informed decision regarding the future of voice ordering solutions by the end of the year.”
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FOX Business’ Greg Norman contributed to this report.
