Have you ever had a conversation with artificial intelligence? Perhaps while trying to pay a bill or get a refund over the phone? Soon, you might be able to have that experience at a Wendy’s drive-through window too.
In a Monday blog post, Wendy’s Senior Vice President and Global Chief Technology Officer Matt Spessard said that the company has been testing the program out for months in its hometown of Columbus, Ohio. Development of the Wendy’s FreshAI system came as part of a partnership with Google Cloud.
“Today, we’re excited to share an update on our progress and plans to expand the technology to more restaurant locations in the U.S.,” said Spessard. He said that the goal of the program is to enhance the crew and customer experience.
With the recent release of ChatGPT and other AI programs to the public, use of AI has increased this year.
“Experimenting with traditional rule-based AI chatbots can take years of development and tremendous work to maintain, modify and expand capabilities,” said Spessard. “Unlike traditional rule-based systems, Wendy’s FreshAI uses generative AI to generate responses and adapt in real-time instead of just following a narrow set of rules.”
This means that customers should feel like they are taking part in a personalized, responsive interaction. Spessard noted that this capability is important since there are more than 200 billion ways to order at least one menu item offered at the fast food staple.
Earlier this year, billionaire tech pioneer Bill Gates said he expects everyone to have robot assistants in the next five years. While he positioned this as a positive development, some experts have raised concerns about the rise of AI on the economy.
“There will be jobs created, but my judgment is that there will be more jobs lost,” said Joseph E. Stiglitz – a winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in economics, a professor at Columbia University, and chief economist at the Roosevelt Institute, a think tank based in New York City – in an interview with Scientific American.
According to the Wendy’s blog post, more AI-powered drive through windows are expected to improve speed and accuracy of orders. It said that service times were 22 seconds faster in the Columbus market locations compared to the market average.
“Think of Wendy’s FreshAI as an assistant – not a replacement – to empower Wendy’s crew members working the drive-thru,” said the post. “Wendy’s FreshAI allows our crew to focus on what matters most: preparing and serving hot and delicious food customized for our fans and building the relationships that bring them back.”
Wendy’s FreshAI is already active across four restaurants in Columbus and more are slated to pop up through the end of this year and next year.
“We’re also offering opportunities for franchisees to pilot Wendy’s FreshAI in 2024, as we continue to receive interest from many who are eager to evolve their own restaurant experiences with this innovative technology,” said Spessard.