• by Todd Wasserman , May 10, 2023

Wendy’s is partnering with Google to test AI to field orders at its drive-thru locations.

The fast-food chain will first try out the concept at a company-operated drive-thru in Columbus, Ohio, in June. The idea is to reduce wait times at the drive-thrus.

Wendy’s isn’t the first fast food chain to consider AI for such orders. McDonald’s began testing AI drive-thrus in 2021 in 10 locations in Chicago. But in 2022, a BTIG report noted that ordering accuracy was in the low 80%  range, which is below the 95-plus percentage range the company wants before broader adoption.

Meanwhile, Checkers, Rally’s, Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. have deployed AI drive-thru tech, and Sonic and White Castle have experimented with it, according to a USA Today report.  There has been a “significant” increase in revenue thanks to AI’s ability to upsell customers, the chief technology officer of CKE Restaurant Holdings, Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s parent, told USA Today.

In a February earnings call, Rajat Suri, the CEO of Checkers and Del Taco-owner Presto, said that the company’s AI “never forgets to upsell and upsells better than a human.”

On the other hand, thisTikTok user noted how she was at a McDonald’s with an AI order-taker and the AI added nine large sweet teas to her order. The order was apparently overheard from someone else at the second drive-thru line.

Several people on that comment thread said that’s why they use the app instead of ordering using their voice.