- Interactions between TikTok users and Wendy's new AI employee are going viral
- Florida-based Brittany recorded a near-perfect interaction
- Her video has received over 16 million views and 22,000 comments
AI has taken over the drive-thru at a Wendy's in Florida, but one TikTok user wasn't thrilled to see the change.
On April 19, Brittany, known as @brittanyann_22 on TikTok, posted a video of herself ordering at a drive-thru with an AI employee.
The TikTok user, who said in the video's description, “I'm not cut out for this,” lined up at the end of the Wendy's drive-thru line to record the video.
The incident prompted more than 22,000 TikTokers to discuss the ethics of AI, with one user saying it was “getting out of hand.”
Even though a non-human entity took her order, she managed to receive a medium chocolate frosty within a minute.
Brittany's clip has been viewed over 16 million times and is currently her most viewed TikTok video.
Wendy's first began replacing drive-thru employees with AI chatbots in 2023.
The fast food chain and Google Cloud have been working together to develop Wendy's FreshAl.
A Wendy's news release says its AI ordering system is “designed to feel as natural as interacting with a flight attendant.”
Kevin Basconi, Wendy's chief investment officer, told the Wall Street Journal during an early test run that they were “at least as good as our best customer service representatives, and probably better on average.” “I'm doing it,” he said.
Although Brittany has made it clear that she's not a fan of the AI drive-thru employees, ordering seemed easy.
The AI employee welcomed Brittany to Wendy's and asked her what she wanted to order as soon as she drove up to the menu.
The AI employee's words were also displayed on the screen in English and Spanish.
Although it seemed to be working perfectly, the AI technology made some errors while Brittany was ordering a chocolate frosty.
Brittany asked the AI employee, “Can I have a chocolate frosty?” While she was ordering, the machine translated it as “and I have a chocolate frosty”.
Brittany said once she decided on her size, she didn't need anything else.
The machine paused for a few seconds and instructed Brittany to approach the next window, displaying her order total.
After reading the comments on the first video, Brittany decided to give her AI employees more complex commands in another TikTok she posted on the social media platform last week.
She ordered a Dave's Double with a slice of cheese, two tomato slices, and ketchup on the bottom of the bun.
The AI employee took note of all of Brittany's requests at the bottom of the screen and asked if she wanted it to be a combo.
She ordered a small chocolate frosty after the AI employee said they didn't have vanilla.
She then upgraded the cheese fries and the total meal came to $11.81.
“I really don't understand how people order through the drive-thru…this wasn't complicated or difficult,” she said after ordering.
She added that an employee at the drive-thru window asked her why she only wanted the bottom part of the bread.
TikTok users discussed the topic of AI restaurant workers in Brittany's viral video, and also criticized the technology in a reaction clip she posted last week.
Multiple commenters wrote positive things about the AI employee, with one even calling him “polite and friendly.”
One user said he thought it was “better than yelling orders six times” because employees couldn't hear him.
TikTokers took a harsh stance on other videos, with one person disparaging Wendy's, writing that they'd rather “not have employees” than pay minimum wage.
“It's perfectly fine for AI to take over these jobs because it has better customer service skills than the people who actually work there,” one person wrote.
“It encourages kids to pursue more complex tasks instead.”
