Fast food companies have been experimenting with integrating artificial intelligence into their restaurants, from Flippy the burger-flipping robot at White Castle to dynamic pricing at Wendy’s. One arena where AI seems to really be struggling, though, is at the drive-thru – and Taco Bell is the latest to experience AI mishaps at the order box. After taking 2 million orders with AI, Taco Bell has reached one conclusion: we still need humans.
Just another anecdote but I used to travel the country for work and it did feel like more and more McDonalds would not let you place an order with a person inside. I specifically remember this happening in 4 different cities in Florida.
Was the entire inside area closed off to foot traffic completely? Or are you saying the inside kiosks worked (and people would still hand you your food) but they somehow refused to actually take orders manually?
The latter - everything normal inside, but only one register and nobody manning it. When I asked if I could place an order I was told they only take orders through the kiosks. This was between 2 and 3 years ago but I experienced it in multiple locations.
I can’t imagine what they would do if a blind person walked in.