Dairy Queen adds AI ordering to dozens of drive-thrus

In short: Dairy Queen is rolling out an AI chatbot to take drive-thru orders at dozens of locations in the US and Canada.

What happened

Dairy Queen is adding an AI chatbot to “select” drive-thrus, according to reporting by The Verge, The Wall Street Journal, and a company announcement. A chatbot is a computer voice that talks with you and tries to understand what you want, like an automated cashier.

The system is made by Presto, a company that builds voice ordering tools for restaurants. Presto already works with chains including Carl’s Jr., Hardee’s, Taco John’s, and Fazoli’s.

Dairy Queen says the goal is to speed up service and also encourage customers to add extra items to their order. The Wall Street Journal reports the bot takes orders correctly about 90 percent of the time. Dairy Queen executive Kevin Baartman said the company tested the bot on a day it gave away free ice cream cones, and the bot handled long lines without getting “crabby.”

There is also a reason some people may be cautious. A Bloomberg report in 2023 said some “AI drive-thru” systems from Presto may be helped by human workers in other countries, like the Philippines. That can mean you might not always be speaking only to a computer.

Why it matters

More drive-thrus are experimenting with AI ordering, including Wendy’s and Burger King, while McDonald’s ended a previous test. For customers, this could mean faster lines, but also more suggested add-ons and occasional mistakes, like a voice assistant misunderstanding you in a noisy car.

Source: The Verge AI