Taco Bell's AI Drive Thru Is Not as Effective as Human-Operated Ones After 2 Million Orders

Artificial intelligence is a massive help to everyday processes and work, but over at fast food chain Taco Bell, it is not as effective compared to humans.

Taco Bell's management recently admitted that their AI is facing significant challenges in taking drive-thru orders, with the technology experiencing various mishaps that frustrate customers.

Different fast food and restaurant chains have turned towards integrating AI into their work, with Taco Bell being among them, but it did not turn out the way they imagined it.

Taco Bell's AI Drive-Thru Is Not as Effective as Humans

In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, Taco Bell Chief Digital and Technology Officer Dane Matthews revealed that the company is still "learning a lot" from the integration of AI into its operations.

It was revealed by Matthews that there are times when the AI technology they adopted has let them down, but there were also times that it surprised them.

Since Taco Bell integrated AI into its system last year, the company has been the subject of memes and online ridicule because of the technology's many mishaps and issues that made it challenging to take orders.

According to CNET, Taco Bell's AI fiasco once became a TikTok trend as customers were either expressing their frustration with the AI getting their orders wrong or being pranked by content creators.

In one situation, a customer ordered 18,000 cups of water from Taco Bell's AI drive-thru assistant, to which it obliged, but a human staff member of the chain had to intervene to cancel the order.

Another customer tried to order McDonald's items on Taco Bell's AI drive-thru, with the machine learning technology accepting it and going as far as to suggest other items from their competitor's menu. In this situation, another employee had to step in and take the order properly.

2 Million Orders In, Taco Bell Rethinks AI

It was reported that Taco Bell's adoption of AI in its drive-thru has processed as many as two million orders since its integration.

According to Matthews, he is now rethinking whether or not the company will use the technology in the future. The executive went as far as to claim that it "might not make sense" to have AI exclusively helm every drive-thru spot they have.

Fast Food and Artificial Intelligence

Different fast-food chains have adopted this technology in their operations in the past years, but not all of them, like Taco Bell, have found success in this venture. McDonald's previously integrated an AI-powered drive-thru to its chain in partnership with IBM, but only a few months later, the company ended the trial run.

On the other hand, Wendy's has also adopted AI to its operations, with one set for their drive-thru, and the other, a dynamic pricing system to cope with inflation.