In 2021, McDonald's became one of the first major fast-food chains to greet customers with an AI chatbot at the drive-thru, deploying the voice-ordering technology at 10 locations in Chicago. The company developed this tech after acquiring Apprente, a startup focused on voice-based conversational technology in 2019, and later worked with IBM to scale automated ordering.
This was only the beginning of the AI drive-thru takeover. Checkers and Rally's teamed up with the AI company Presto to put a chatbot at all corporate-owned drive-thrus in the US in 2022, with the noble goal of selling more food and improving order accuracy. The company also claimed the tech would “free up staff for more people-dependent areas of their business.” Wendy's and Taco Bell followed suit, with Wendy's launching its “FreshAI” chatbot at a Columbus, Ohio drive-thru in 2023, trained on the franchise's lingo so it knows a “milkshake” is a “Frosty” and a “JBC” is a “junior bacon cheeseburger.” Wendy's reported the chatbot got orders right without employee intervention 86 percent of the time.
Taco Bell began testing its Voice AI drive-thru around the same time and announced plans to expand to hundreds of US locations by the end of 2024, pitching it as a way to reduce employee task loads and slash wait times. Other chains including Panera Bread, White Castle, Carl's Jr., Hardee's, Panda Express, and Popeyes also started experimenting with the technology.
But customers aren't exactly fans. A January 2025 YouGov survey found that 55 percent of Americans would prefer a human to take their order at the drive-thru, compared to 21 percent with no preference, and a mere 4 percent who would rather use an AI chatbot. That lukewarm response may be having an impact: McDonald's ended its partnership with IBM in 2024, and Taco Bell chief digital officer Dane Mathews told The Wall Street Journal it's reevaluating deployment after customers trolled the tech by ordering 18,000 water cups. Some people suggest making outrageous orders or speaking in a different language just to bypass the bot and speak to a human.
Credibility is also an issue. The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Presto - which powers AI drive-thrus at Checkers, Rally's, Carl's Jr., Hardee's, and now Dairy Queen - with misleading customers about its technology's capabilities. A 2023 SEC filing revealed that human workers in the Philippines stepped in for most orders taken by Presto's AI system.
Fast-food chains are now taking AI beyond the drive-thru. McDonald's is exploring systems that predict when its equipment (like its seemingly always-out-of-order ice cream machine) is likely to break down, and using AI-powered scales to compare target order weight versus actual weight, alerting employees if something is missing. Burger King is piloting an AI assistant called “Patty” that lives inside employees' headsets, helping them prepare food and also listening to evaluate them for friendliness - tracking whether they say “welcome to Burger King,” “please,” and “thank you.” Taco Bell is experimenting with an AI-driven menu board that can “dynamically change the layout, content, and visuals on a car-by-car basis,” according to Yum! chief financial officer Ranjith Roy. Culver's and Zaxbys are working with Berry AI to install camera timers at drive-thrus to capture data on traffic flow and service execution, claiming the tech shortens service time by 20 to 40 percent.
It seems more fast-food chains might start deploying AI tech that's less in-your-face than a chatbot - whether it's menu changes you don't notice or a scale measuring your food bag - at least until these companies perfect their chatbot's tech. Which, given current performance, could be a while.