Overview

• The company has deployed the voice system at more than 500 U.S. locations since 2023 and is now reassessing where it makes sense to keep it.
• Chief digital and technology officer Dane Mathews says teams will be coached on when to enable the system and when to actively monitor or step in.
• Executives indicated some busy restaurants may pause or avoid voice ordering in favor of human order-takers during peak times.
• Taco Bell reports roughly two million orders have been completed through the technology despite widely shared errors and trolling, including an 18,000-water-cup prank.
• Industry peers are adjusting too, with McDonald's moving from an IBM pilot to Google-powered voice tech and Wendy's and White Castle continuing tests, as Yum! Brands pursues improvements through a partnership with Nvidia.