Yahoo Finance food correspondent Brooke DiPalma joins the live show to learn about Wendy’s and Google’s partnership to revolutionize drive-thru ordering using AI technology, which will premiere in Columbus, Ohio this June; Discuss how AI is transforming restaurants. industry.
video transcript
Sheena Smith: Wendy’s partners with Google Cloud to bring AI to its drive-thru. Now it’s called Wendy’s Fresh AI. The pilot will begin at a company-run restaurant in Columbus, Ohio, she said in June. Brooke DiPalma explains the details. Brooke, that’s exciting.
Brooke DiPalma: Hello. It certainly sounds exciting. It’s pretty interesting here. I’d love to know how exactly that works, but as you pointed out, this is one of the first partnerships to come out of a collaboration between Google Cloud and Wendy’s.
This partnership will start in 2021. It’s called Wendy’s Fresh AI. Wendy’s Fresh AI’s first pilot will launch in June in Columbus, Ohio, near its headquarters in Dublin, Ohio. Now, in addition to that, the company wants you to know that AI technology has the ability to understand bespoke requests that contain billions of different combinations.
For example, if a customer asks for a large milkshake, the technology will know that the customer wants a frosty. In addition, it will be as natural as interacting with employees. We want to know if our customers think so too. Customers can expect a female voice in this pilot. Now, what you need to know is that Wendy’s expects this automated technology to improve speed, accuracy and consistency.
And based on this pilot, Wendy’s is looking for a few key things in addition to drive-thru speed. Customers also pay attention to the average number of orders. They expect AI technology to offer upsell opportunities, such as larger sizes, and increase sales by asking customers if they want something frosty in their order in addition to the daily specials. And this comes at a time when drive-thru remains a key opportunity for Wendy’s. About 75% to 80% of Sheena, Wendy’s customers now prefer the drive-thru. This is a significant increase compared to about two-thirds before the COVID 19 pandemic.
And Wendy’s wants to be not just a game changer here, but a leader in AI technology and drive-thru.
Sheena Smith: Sure it makes sense. Looking at recent developments, that certainly seems to be the case. When it comes to AI, it’s often talked about how many companies are talking about it in their earnings calls. Wendy’s isn’t the only food company or fast food chain to use AI. who else?
Brooke DiPalma: Indeed, it is not alone. In fact, it’s probably the top, if not the biggest, topic of this earnings season. I mean, we’ve heard McDonald’s mention it on their earnings call, but in addition, McDonald’s has partnered with IBM in 2021 to further accelerate the development and deployment of its automated voice ordering technology. . We have received some feedback from our customers about its accuracy. It was a bit of a rough start.
Wingstop partnered with AI voice startup Converse in March. We are currently piloting a voice AI-powered virtual assistant to fill customer phone orders at selected locations. We’ve also seen Yum brands use recommended orders to figure out how much food they need in their restaurants.
Chipotle also uses AI in kitchen management to streamline operations. They also introduced Chippy, a robot, and what they call an AI kitchen assistant for making chips. Chipotle’s chief financial officer (CFO) also referred to the opportunity, saying it’s a well-thought-out approach. Please try to hear.
Jack Hartung: There are many possibilities. There are also many pitfalls. So we want to be very careful and very thoughtful. But certainly, if there was an easier and better way to do the work that the staff do and the work that the support staff do to support the restaurant, the result would be to run a better restaurant and serve customers in a better way. We are certainly willing to consider any technology if it can provide
Brooke DiPalma: And of course, this earnings season isn’t over yet. More food companies are due to report later this week, including Wendy’s before the bell on Wednesday. In addition to Krispy Kreme before the Thursday bell, there’s also the Cheesecake Factory after the Wednesday bell. And what’s certainly notable is that we’re hearing that not only food chains, but PepsiCo and Coca-Cola are also looking to get in here. So there’s something to watch for investors and for Main Street.
Perhaps in the near future I will be ordering a little different at the drive thru.
Sheena Smith: All right, Brooke. Exciting content. thanks so much.
