TECH BYTE: AI Voice Assistant Takes Your Drive-Thru Order

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — Isn’t it frustrating when you get the wrong order in the drive-thru?

More fast food restaurants want to make that a thing of the past.

They’re now using tech to improve the drive-thru experience.

AI could be coming to a drive-thru near you.

CKE Restaurant Holdings says some of its Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s fast food restaurants have teamed up with OpenCity to launch an AI voice ordering platform.

“Tori” is being implemented to maximize operational efficiency, increase order speed, and improve accuracy to make the customer experience better.

It’s also a way to tackle the worker shortage, and increase revenue.

Apparently Tori is pretty good at upselling with her personalized recommendations.

And you don’t have to worry about her calling out sick, or coming in late.

So how does Tori work?

OpenCity says she’s easy to interact with, and takes orders with 99 percent accuracy.

Once they order, customers then pay an actual worker for their meal at the pickup window.

OpenCity even posted several testimonials on its website from customers who’ve used Tori to order their food.

One of them said, “It was good. It was fast, efficient. Got the order right.”

People are also raving about Tori on social media, bringing Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s more than two million views.

Some of those restaurant managers say not only are their customers pleased with Tori, but their employees are too. She increased productivity, and improved employee satisfaction.

Carl’s Jr. Regional Manager Raj Patel summed it up best: “Everything just runs better using Tori.”

This is just the beginning.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see even more fast food restaurants join this AI trend.