US EditionAI is returning to Taco Bell and McDonald's drive-thrus - will customers bite this time?
Taco Bell is slowing its AI drive-thru rollout after glitches and trolling incidents, aiming to blend AI with human workers to improve order accuracy and customer experience.
- Taco Bell and McDonald's are cautiously reintroducing AI-powered voice ordering to their drive-thrus as of August 2025 after prior challenges.
- This return follows customer complaints and operational glitches, including viral incidents such as an 18,000-cup water order designed to bypass AI.
- Both companies are improving AI with natural language processing and combining it with human oversight to balance automation and service quality.
- Taco Bell has implemented voice AI technology at more than 500 drive-thru locations, with Chief Digital Officer Dane Mathews acknowledging that while the system can occasionally fall short, it often performs better than expected.
- The renewed AI effort aims to reduce wait times, improve accuracy, and free staff for higher-value tasks, though deployment will remain flexible to avoid customer frustration.
19 Articles
19 Articles
TechCrunch
Taco Bell is having second thoughts about relying on AI at the drive-through
Taco Bell has apparently rolled out voice AI-powered ordering at more than 500 drive-throughs, leading to unflattering viral moments like someone ordering 18,000 water cups in order to “bypass” the AI and get connected to a human server.
The Independent
The Independent (US)Taco Bell to slow its rollout of AI-powered drive thrus after glitches and trolls
The fast food chain announced last year that it would be expanding the use of voice AI technology, which helps take and process orders, but has already encountered difficulties
Pranksters prove Taco Bell's AI drive-thrus not ready for prime time
Folks are placing ridiculous orders to confuse and confound Taco Bell's AI ordering system. Prank orders, such as this one for 18,000 watercups, will confuse the AI and prompt it to direct you to a human. It didn't take long for people to figure this out, and while AI ordering may work just fine, it seems not everyone wants to talk to a machine. — Read the rest The post Pranksters prove Taco Bell's AI drive-thrus not ready for prime time appeare…
Fast Food, AI, And Why Guardrails Matter
One of the many issues with AI is one of responsibility—guardrails seem to take a backseat to growth. AI-enabled fast food drive-thrus shouldn’t have better backstops than ChatGPT, yet they do.Earlier this week, I had a little bit of a weird situation from an editorial standpoint. I wrote a piece I was pretty happy about for a local magazine about vibe coding, highlighting how it was helping to enable some real excitement within the local commun…
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