In 2021, McDonald's became one of the first major fast-food chains to greet customers with an AI chatbot at the drive-thru. It started small, deploying the voice-ordering technology at just 10 locations in Chicago. The chain had acquired Apprente, a startup specializing in voice-based conversational technology, in 2019, and later partnered with IBM to scale automated ordering. This early move signaled a broader industry shift: the drive-thru, a staple of American fast food, was about to be transformed by artificial intelligence.
The initial results were promising. McDonald's reported that the AI could handle simple orders efficiently, reducing wait times and freeing up human workers for other tasks. But the technology was far from perfect. Customers reported errors, misunderstandings, and frustration when the chatbot couldn't handle special requests or loud environments. Still, the experiment paved the way for other chains to follow suit.
Checkers and Rally's teamed up with AI company Presto to deploy chatbots across all corporate-owned drive-thrus in the US by 2022. Presto's system was designed not only to take orders but also to upsell items, increasing average check sizes. The company claimed the technology would free up staff for more people-dependent areas of the business, like handling food preparation or customer service inside the restaurant.
Wendy's entered the arena in 2023 with its FreshAI chatbot, launched at a Columbus, Ohio drive-thru. Developed in partnership with Google, the AI was trained on franchise-specific lingo—such as recognizing that a Frosty is a milkshake and a JBC stands for junior bacon cheeseburger. Wendy's reported that the chatbot handled orders correctly without human intervention 86% of the time, a figure that boosted confidence in the technology.
Taco Bell also tested its Voice AI drive-thru around the same time and soon announced plans to expand to hundreds of US locations by the end of 2024. The company touted the technology's ability to reduce the task load for employees and slash wait times. Other chains like Panera Bread, White Castle, Carl's Jr., Hardee's, Panda Express, and Popeyes followed, each hoping to gain a competitive edge through automation.
But as AI drive-thrus proliferated, customer sentiment soured. A January 2025 YouGov survey found that 55% of Americans prefer a human to take their order, while only 4% would rather use an AI chatbot. The lukewarm response led some franchises to reevaluate. McDonald's ended its partnership with IBM in 2024, though reports suggest the chain is giving AI-powered drive-thrus a second chance. Taco Bell's chief digital officer, Dane Mathews, told The Wall Street Journal that the company was reconsidering its deployment after customers expressed frustrations on social media, including trolling the system by ordering thousands of water cups.
Human workers in the Philippines were quietly stepping in for many of Presto's AI orders, a fact revealed in an SEC investigation that charged the company with misleading customers about its technology's capabilities. The incident highlighted a fundamental issue: many so-called AI solutions still rely on human backends, undermining claims of full automation.
Despite these setbacks, fast-food chains are not abandoning AI. Instead, they are pushing the technology into less visible, but potentially more effective, applications. McDonald's is exploring an AI system that predicts when equipment—like its notoriously unreliable ice cream machine—is likely to break down. It is also using AI-powered scales to compare target and actual order weights, alerting employees if something is missing. These behind-the-scenes uses aim to improve operational efficiency without directly interacting with customers.
Burger King is taking a different approach. In February 2025, it announced a pilot for an AI assistant named Patty, which lives inside employees' headsets. Workers can ask Patty for help preparing food—for example, how many strips of bacon go on a Texas Double Whopper—and the system also evaluates their performance by tracking whether they say phrases like welcome to Burger King, please, and thank you. Patty also informs managers when a machine is down or an item is out of stock, automatically removing affected items from digital menu boards.
Taco Bell is experimenting with an AI-driven menu board that dynamically changes layout, content, and visuals based on the customer pulling up. Chief Financial Officer Ranjith Roy described the technology as capable of adjusting the menu on a car-by-car basis, potentially targeting customers with personalized offers or highlighting items that need to be cleared from inventory.
Other uses are more subtle. Culver's and Zaxbys are working with a company called Berry AI to install camera timers at drive-thrus that capture data about traffic flow and service execution. Berry AI claims its technology shortens drive-thru service time by 20 to 40 percent. These systems are less invasive than chatbots, yet they still collect vast amounts of data about customer behavior.
The trend extends beyond fast food to casual dining. Applebee's and IHOP are exploring personalization systems that could suggest or upsell menu items based on past orders. A survey from the National Restaurant Association found that 26% of restaurant operators now use AI, mostly for marketing and administrative tasks. AI-powered shopping carts are also appearing in grocery stores like Whole Foods, Wegmans, ShopRite, Kroger, and Sprouts, where they can scan items, suggest recipes, and process payments.
Restaurants like Chipotle are putting robots in kitchens to prepare food, from chopping vegetables to cooking burrito bowls. These systems are designed to handle repetitive tasks, reducing labor costs and improving consistency. But they also raise concerns about job displacement and the quality of human-machine interaction.
The broader implications of AI in the food service industry are profound. On one hand, automation promises faster service, lower costs, and increased accuracy. On the other, it risks alienating customers who value the human touch, especially in an environment where service and hospitality are key differentiators. The balance between efficiency and experience will likely determine the pace and direction of adoption.
As fast-food chains continue to refine their AI strategies, one thing is clear: the drive-thru chatbot is just the beginning. From predictive maintenance to dynamic menus, artificial intelligence is quietly embedding itself into every aspect of the fast-food experience. Whether customers embrace it or resist it, the technology is here to stay—at least until the next innovation comes along.
Source: The Verge News