AI accepts fast food orders immediately | Smart News

Wendy’s has announced it will begin testing an AI chatbot to take orders from customers at its drive-thru. The pilot program, called Wendy’s FreshAI, is partnering with Google and is set to launch next month in restaurants in the Columbus, Ohio area.

According to CNBC’s Julie, 75 to 80 percent of Wendy’s customers prefer using the drive-thru, and fast-food chain CEO Todd Pennegor said the company “has the slowest point in the ordering process: ordering at the speaker box.” ‘, he said. Coleman.

The chatbot can converse with customers, answer common questions and understand bespoke requests, according to a statement. They are also trained in Wendy’s terminology, such as learning that “JBC” is Junior Bacon Cheeseburger and “Frosty” is the company name for Milkshake, Angus Rothen reported. wall street journal. They may also be programmed to upsell customers by pushing out daily specials or larger sizes.

“It’s going to be very conversational,” Penegal told the magazine. “You wouldn’t know who you’re talking to other than an employee.”

When a customer places an order, AI confirms the order on screen and sends it to the kitchen for the line cook. bloombergof Daniela Sirtoli-Cortina. At the test site, an employee monitors her AI and responds in case a customer wishes to speak to a human.

Wendy’s FreshAI leverages Google’s large-scale language model, a model trained on extensive datasets to find language patterns and generate words. Large language models also power the popular AI chatbots ChatGPT and Google Bard. These have made headlines in recent months for their amazing ability to provide human-like responses to prompts. Wendy’s FreshAI will probably behave a little differently to avoid concerns that the AI ​​could manipulate users and spread misinformation. The statement said it has logical and conversational guardrails and is trained on the company’s menu and business rules.

Wendy’s isn’t the only fast food chain experimenting with AI. In 2022, Popeyes introduced a chatbot called “Tori” in its restaurants in Louisiana. According to the statement, AI has improved service speed by 20%, increased drink sales by 150% and increased customer satisfaction by 20%. Carls, his Jr. and Hardy’s have also introduced AI-powered voice ordering at select drive-thru stores and recently announced plans to roll out the technology to restaurants nationwide.

Wendy’s said AI is not intended to replace human employees, but rather “replace attendant responsibilities to meet the expected increase in Wendy’s order volume across drive-thru and growing digital channels. A Wendy’s spokesperson said it plans to change the entrepreneurMadeline Garfinkel.

But tech leaders, including AI pioneer Jeffrey Hinton, have expressed concerns about technology upending the job market. Goldman Sachs economists recently estimated that up to 300 million full-time jobs worldwide could be replaced by automation.

Krishna Gupta, automation chairman and interim CEO of Presto, which provides AI-powered technology to restaurants like McDonald’s and Chili’s. bloomberg technology‘s Ed Ludlow envisions AI completely replacing humans in drive-thru.

“I think in three years there will be no drive-thru with humans taking orders,” he says. bloomberg technology. “Voicebots, whether it’s ours or someone else’s, will become ubiquitous. We never get tired of delivering high-revenue experiences to our customers.”