A major change is coming to how you order at Taco Bell (2024)

Taco Bell will expand its use of artificial intelligence voice technology in its drive-thrus, it was announced on Wednesday.

The tech will be rolled out at hundreds of US stores by the end of the year, parent company Yum! Brands said.

Taco Bell is currently using AI in more than 100 drive-thrus across 13 states, which it says improves order accuracy, reduces wait times and drives profitable growth for the company and its franchisees.

This means that when customers pull up to order a Cheesy Gordita Crunch or a Chicken Quesadilla, there is a good chance they will be speaking to AI rather than to a person.

The expansion of the tech by Taco Bell comes weeks after rival McDonald's announced it was scrapping automated chatbots at drive-thru locations entirely.

McDonald's said in June that it was winding down an AI drive-thru ordering program after mishaps with the tech went viral.

The company also announced it was removing the controversial tech from more than 100 locations that has been using it.

The fast food giant said the goal of the test was to determine if automated voice ordering could speed up service, simplify operations and create an improved experience for customers.

However, fans were increasingly documenting their botched orders on social media, including cases where the AI chatbot added unwanted items or could not understand simple requests.

One video, captioned 'fighting with the McDonald's robot' showed a woman trying to order a bottle of water and a cup of vanilla ice cream.

Instead, she had four packets of butter and four packets of ketchup incorrectly tacked onto the order.

Another showed two people hysterically laughing as the AI chatbot added over 2,000 McNuggets to their order, totaling over $200.

In December, it emerged that AI-powered drive-thrus at Carl's Jr and Del Taco make so many mistakes that humans had to intervene in 7 in 10 orders.

But Lawrence Kim, chief innovation officer at Yum! Brands told CNN he is confident that his company's tech will not have the same problems.

Instead, he insisted it had actually led to better accuracy with ordering, shorter wait times at drive-thrus and happier employees.

'We are confident that we've approached this the right way,' he said.

He added that a Taco Bell employee is still always listening at the other end with the ability to intervene if there are any issues.

'Voice AI does not replace any team members,' Kim said, adding that the technology is instead designed to 'enhance the team member experience so they can focus on other tasks that are a priority for them.'

Kim declined to specify to the outlet which tech partner the company has worked with to develop the AI ordering tool.

But he said he believes there are possibilities the AI could be implemented at the company's other chains, which includes KFC and Pizza Hut.

The fast food industry has long been looking at automation as a way to cut costs amid soaring food and labor inflation.

Apps, mobile ordering and in-store automated kiosks have become commonplace in many fast food restaurants across the US.

The rising cost of food and labor has meant that restaurants are being forced to close downacross the country.

The introduction of a $20-an-hour minimum wage in California earlier this year has also put increased pressure on fast food restaurants in the state.

As a result, many businesses are turning towards technology as a way to cut costs.

When the law was introduced in April, a Burger King franchisee with 140 restaurants on the West Coast said that he planned to use digital kiosks in all locations in two months.

Until the wage hike, he planned to roll them out over the next five to ten years.

In December, it emerged that AI-powered drive-thrus at Carl's Jr and Del Taco make so many mistakes that humans had to intervene in 7 in 10 orders.