Wendy’s Tests AI Chatbot to Take Drive-Thru Orders | US News

The next time someone asks for fries with a shake, he or she may be talking to a robot. At least, that’s what US fast-food chain Wendy’s plans to do.

Next month, Wendy’s plans to test an artificial intelligence-powered chatbot that can talk to customers and take orders.

The pilot program, named “FreshAI,” Google AI software in the cloud. Available in the Columbus, Ohio area.

and press releaseWendy’s said it aims to revolutionize the fast food restaurant industry.

“By leveraging generative AI, Wendy’s seeks to remove the complexity of the ordering process so employees can focus on delivering fast, freshly prepared, high quality food and exceptional service,” the company said. Stated.

Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian said: “Generative AI is fundamentally changing the way people interact with brands, and we expect the integration of generative AI technology from Wendy’s and Google Cloud to set the new standard for superior drive-thru experiences in the quick service industry. doing” “

The bot is trained to recognize that when a customer orders a milkshake, they are actually asking for a Wendy’s Frosty ice cream drink. However, according to Intouch Insight, the bot’s order accuracy was 79% as of 2022. Wendy’s wants to raise that ratio to above 85% to compete with other fast-food chains testing similar technology.

Wendy’s isn’t exactly a trailblazer in this space.McDonald’s opened last year fully automatic restaurant In Fort Worth, Texas, an AI-based drive-thru was developed nationwide.

Like the newly automated McDonald’s, Wendy’s restaurants employ live humans to monitor the drive-thru to see if every order is understood by a chatbot or if customers request a human conversation. to see if

Other fast food chains such as Sonic and Popeye are also experimenting with AI.

Tech companies Google, IBM, and Microsoft have been racing to bring their own versions of AI chatbots to the world since the announcement of OpenAI’s ChatGPT last year.

Such dramatic changes in the fast-food industry could further fuel fears that robots will take over jobs that were once done exclusively by humans.