Wingstop is the latest fast food chain to use AI bots to take customer orders, joining 13 others like McDonald's and Chipotle testing the technology to save on labor

  • AI-powered voice bots and other automation tools are gaining popularity among top restaurants.

  • This week, voice bots are taking phone orders at select Wingstop restaurants.

  • Here are 14 chains adding voice bots, robotic fry cooks, and mobile-order express lanes.

Restaurant chains continue to bet big on innovation to automate customer service and rely less on human labor.

Chains such as Taco Bell, Chipotle, Popeyes, and Domino's are using AI-powered voice bots to take orders at the drive-thru and over the phone.

This week, select Wingstop restaurants in multiple states also rolled out voice bots for taking phone orders. The chain is using conversational bots by food-tech startup ConverseNow, which also works with Domino's and Fazoli's.

Automation tools, from AI to robotics, are growing in popularity as the restaurant industry continues to be challenged by labor shortages and turnover.  About 58% of restaurant operators said using tech and automation to alleviate labor shortages will become more common this year, according to the 2023 State of the Restaurant Industry Report by the National Restaurant Association.

Here's a look at the 14 chains and restaurant companies adding automated tech to augment labor and speed up service for digital customers.

McDonald's has been testing AI-powered ordering in its drive-thru lanes since 2019. Some restaurants also use voice bots to take orders, but some TikTokers have recently roasted the chain after failed run-ins with bots.

McDonald's drive-thru review
Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

Source: Business Insider

Wingstop is testing AI-powered voice bots for phone orders in restaurants in multiple states. The test makes sense for the chicken-wing chain, where digital sales represented 63.2% of its total sales in its latest quarter. The chain is tapping tech by ConverseNow.

UKRAINE - 2021/06/21: In this photo illustration a Wingstop logo of an US chain of restaurants is seen on a smartphone screen with a Wingstop menu in the background. (Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Wingstop logo of an US chainSOPA Images / Getty Images

Chipotle began testing AI-powered voice assistants for phone orders in early 2018. The chain is also innovating in the kitchen. This year, the chain began testing Chippy, a tortilla chip-making robot by Miso Robotics.

Chippy robot Chipotle
Chippy is in the back.Chipotle

Chipotle opened its first Chipotlane in 2018. The new format store has a drive-thru lane dedicated to mobile pickup orders. It was designed to increase the speed of pickup orders for consumers and delivery drivers. Soon chains across the US began to copy Chipotle.

Chipotlane
A Chipotlane in Costa Mesa, California.Nancy Luna

The Chipotlane restaurant became a money-maker, demonstrating "higher volumes and greater returns" than a traditional store, Chipotle said in September when it opened its 500th restaurant with a mobile drive-thru lane. Next year, the chain said 80% of its planned 255 to 285 new restaurants will have Chipotlanes.

Chipotlane
Chipotle

Checkers & Rally's said it became one of the first large restaurant companies to implement widespread use of AI-powered voice assistants. Out of the total 803 Checkers and Rally's restaurants, voice AI is live in 280 of them.

Checkers Rally's
Checkers & Rally's rendering of automated drive-thruCheckers

Tech companies like ConverseNow are swiftly reshaping how restaurants take phone orders by automating the process with AI-powered virtual assistants. ConverseNow's tech is live in more than 1,250 stores, including Domino's and Fazoli's.

Domino's innovation lab
Domino's innovation labNancy Luna

Taco Bell's latest drive-thru innovation is aimed at speed of service. The new Taco Bell Defy restaurant opened in June 2022 with four drive-thru lanes in Minnesota. Like a Chipotlane, the design includes designated pick-up lanes for mobile orders.

Taco Bell Defy
Taco Bell's new concept at Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.Taco Bell

Taco Bell is also testing conversational AI at the drive-thru "to help us potentially automate ordering," according to Chris Turner, the chief financial officer at Yum Brands, Taco Bell's parent company. Before scaling, the chain will continue to test it to "ensure that it creates a great customer experience." He didn't disclose the test location.

taco bell
A Taco Bell drive-thru.Ethan Miller/Getty Images

In the fall, fast-casual chain Panera Bread began testing AI-powered drive-thru tech at two upstate New York restaurants. An automated bot named "Tori" created by the startup OpenCity takes orders from drive-thru customers.

Panera Bread
Panera BreadPanera Bread

A Popeyes restaurant in Louisiana began testing drive-thru voice bots in April using the same food-tech startup, OpenCity, as Panera. The franchisee said the speed of service has increased by 20% by using the bot. The restaurant's drink sales have also increased by 150% because "Tori" automatically upsells high-margin items such as soda fountain drinks, sides, and desserts.

Popeyes drive-thru
Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

In mid-November, the fast-casual chain Sweetgreen opened its first restaurant with a drive-thru pick-up lane. The salad chain is calling the new design feature a Sweetlane.

Sweetlane
Sweetlane renderingSweetgreen

In June, Chick-fil-A said it began testing a drive-thru express experience for customers. Restaurants with express lanes allow mobile app customers to bypass the traditional drive-thru line to pick up their meals.

Chick-fil-A
Chick-fil-A is testing express drive-through lanesChick-fil-A

Restaurant Brands International, the parent of Burger King, recently opened a delivery-focused food hall in Miami, Florida. One central kitchen serves meals from Burger King, Popeyes, Firehouse Subs, and other chains.

KYLO Food Hall
Burger King's owner opened KYLO Food Hall in Miami.RBI

KYLO Food Hall is equipped with kiosks for walk-in orders. No cashiers.

KYLO Food Hall
RBI's new food hallRBI

McDonald's opened a new format restaurant late in 2022 with an order-ahead lane for picking up digital orders from a food and beverage conveyor.

McDonald's new format Texas
McDonald's

In September, Subway installed its first unattended smart fridge at UC San Diego in California. Powered by AI, the fridge is stocked with grab & go sandwiches. Customers can talk directly to the smart fridge and ask about any of the products inside, Subway said.

Subway vending machine; Subway tuna sandwich
Subway; Jörg Carstensen/Picture Alliance via Getty Images

Chili's is replacing grill tops with high-tech grills programmed to automate cook times for burgers, steaks, chicken, and salmon. A medium or "pink in center" burger takes about 50 seconds to cook.

Chili's
Chili's new one-touch programmable grillNancy Luna/Insider

In December 2021, Shake Shack opened its first restaurant with drive-thru lanes in Maple Grove, Minnesota. One lane is dedicated to fetching mobile orders.

shake shack drive thru
Shake Shack

Source: Restaurant Dive

 

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