Wendy’s Inc is to begin testing an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot next month that would talk to customers and take drive-through orders, becoming the latest fast-food chain to employ the technology.
The system, powered by Google Cloud’s AI software, would be as natural as talking to an employee and has the ability to understand speech and answer frequently asked questions, the company said.
Wendy’s is one of several restaurants incorporating AI and automation to improve customer service, while grappling with labor shortages.
Photo: AP
What is more, drive-throughs surged in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the chain saying 80 percent of its customers prefer ordering that way.
This “creates a huge opportunity for us to deliver a truly differentiated, faster and frictionless experience for our customers,” Wendy’s CEO Todd Penegor said in a statement.
Interest in AI chatbots from investors and the public has surged after the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT last year. That touched off a race among tech giants, including Google parent Alphabet Inc, to push the new chatbot technology into the business world.
Opinions on what AI would mean for workers and companies vary greatly, from massive disruptions to marginal change.
Presto Automation, which offers an AI ordering platform for restaurants, believes the technology would shake up the industry.
“I don’t think in three years, there’s going to be a drive-through having a human take your orders,” Presto chairman and interim CEO Krishna Gupta told Bloomberg Television last week.
Wendy’s, which is debuting its chatbot at a company-owned store near Columbus, Ohio, is trying to reduce miscommunication and mistakes by automating the process, it said.
It declined to comment on how the technology might reduce the need for employees.
At the test location, a restaurant employee would monitor the drive-through to make sure the AI can address all requests and be there in case a customer asks to speak with a human, Wendy’s chief information officer Kevin Vasconi said.
The chatbot would have a female voice and be able to understand requested items that are not phrased exactly as they appear on the menu.
It would know that a “large milkshake” corresponds to the chain’s “large Frosty,” Vasconi said.
After the AI confirms the order on a screen customers can see, a ticket would make its way to the kitchen — just the same as when an employee talks to diners.
Wendy’s does not expect the chatbot to be perfect.
Its order accuracy last year was 79 percent, Intouch Insight said.
The chain’s initial goal for the AI is to boost that past 85 percent, which would put it on par with competitors.
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