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If figures like Microsoft founder Bill Gates are correct, AI could be coming for your job even if you’re a skilled professional like a teacher, a medical professional, or a computer programmer. But there’s one job where AI may simply not be doing the trick just yet—taking taco orders.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Taco Bell Chief Digital and Technology Officer Dane Mathews described his mixed experiences following the company’s rollout of AI-based assistants at 500 of its drive-thrus across the US last year. The executive told the Journal he is now thinking carefully about where not to implement this type of tech in the future, acknowledging it may not make sense to use artificial intelligence at every drive-thru.
“I think like everybody, sometimes it lets me down, but sometimes it really surprises me,” he said.
The Taco chain’s rollout certainly included some surprises. Clips went viral online of the glitching customer service system endlessly asking the same questions over and over, with one customer even ordering “18,000 cups of water” to fast-track his way into talking to a real human.
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The executive acknowledged that, for certain situations, such as super busy restaurants with packed queues, humans might do a better job. For example, at very busy locations with long lines, a team member might handle things better, he said. Though the company is still persisting with AI, it says it will now work with its teams on managing the roll-out, and “recommend you use voice AI or recommend that you actually really monitor voice AI and jump in as necessary.”
Even if Taco Bell does choose to slow down its AI rollout, it’s likely that other fast food chains won’t be far behind. Wendy’s plans to have AI chatbot-based drive-thrus at up to 600 of its US locations by the end of 2025, while McDonald’s recently tapped Google Cloud ahead of its AI drive-thru roll-out plans, targeting 43,000 locations across the US.
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About Will McCurdy
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