It’s hardly surprising how often AI lets customers down. WSJ reports that social media has been littered with complaints about the tech glitching (and pranksters fighting out how to “bypass AI” by ordering 18,000 water cups). Taco Bell is not the only fast food chain experimenting with voice AI drive-thrus. Wendy’s, Bojangles, White Castle, and Taco John’s are all trying to make it work, and lots of voice AI companies are cropping up with promises “help restaurants lower their labor costs while also increasing their revenue thanks to more consistent upselling capabilities,” per Restaurant Business. Eric Pakravan, a partner at TenOneTen Ventures (which contributed to a funding round for Loman, a voice AI company), confidently told the outlet, “Restaurants have tried voice for years, but the AI wasn’t ready. It is now.” Tell that to the guy who was reportedly charged more than $15,000 this week at an AI drive-thru!
Taco Bell tells WSJ that it’s reevaluating how AI is used at its restaurants, conceding that “a human team member might handle things better” in a situation where the drive-thru line gets really long. (You don’t say!) Mathews admits it’s still “really, really early” in figuring out how to use the technology. But the company isn’t backing off AI just because it doesn’t work that well. (This is the company that for some reason threw a wedding in the metaverse, after all.) Mathews explains that corporate will make recommendations to restaurants when to use the AI and when to “actually really monitor voice AI and jump in as necessary.” Is the future of American labor babysitting annoyingly glitchy robots?
