By the end of the year, hundreds of Taco Bell locations will introduce AI-powered drive-thru ordering.

• By the end of 2024, hundreds of Taco Bell drive-thru lanes in the U.S. will use artificial intelligence.
• Wendy's and White Castle, like other restaurant companies, have been gradually incorporating technology to lower labor expenses and enhance the speed of service.
• In the future, Yum plans to introduce voice AI in its drive-thru lanes worldwide.

By the end of this year, Taco Bell aims to implement artificial intelligence to streamline drive-thru orders at hundreds of its restaurants.

The restaurant company announced on Wednesday that it plans to expand its implementation of the tech in the U.S. and eventually use it in drive-thru lanes worldwide.

Yum, like its restaurant rivals, is placing bets on voice AI, but its plans are the most ambitious to date. While tech companies claim that voice AI can streamline service, cut labor costs, and increase sales through cross-selling, restaurant companies have been cautious, testing the technology to ensure a positive experience for both employees and customers.

The Chicago-based company has decided to abandon its partnership with IBM and turn to other vendors for its Automated Order Taker trial, which was scheduled to end in June.

Taco Bell has rapidly expanded its voice AI pilot program in California, with more than 100 U.S. restaurants currently using the technology. In May, executives announced plans to expand the pilot from five locations to 30 restaurants. By the end of 2023, Taco Bell had nearly 7,700 U.S. locations, according to company filings.

The restaurant company and its operators have experienced profitable growth due to the tech's improvement of order accuracy, reduction of wait times, decrease in employees' task load, and fueling of this growth.

Lawrence Kim, Yum's Chief Innovation Officer, stated that after two years of fine-tuning and testing the drive-thru Voice AI technology, they are confident in its ability to optimize operations and improve customer satisfaction.

Yum announced that five KFC restaurants in Australia are implementing voice AI technology in their drive-thrus.

Yum is expected to report its second-quarter earnings on Tuesday.