Wendy's is testing new artificial intelligence technology through GoogleCloud at several Columbus-area drive-thru stores with the goal of improving ordering speed and accuracy.
When you pull up to the drive-thru, the AI takes your order almost instantly and passes it to an in-store employee to complete.
On Monday, WOSU went to the store at 3040 Northwest Boulevard in Upper Arlington and placed four orders.
First order was a baconator meal with medium fries and a coke. The AI processed the order word for word and displayed it on the screen.
The second order was a double stack biggie bag with Coca Cola and BBQ sauce for the chicken nuggets. The AI initially struggled when “Cola” was ordered, but correctly handled the full name “Coca-Cola.”
The third order was Dave's single burger without the cheese and extra pickles. The AI had a hard time understanding it at first, but eventually got it in the correct order.
The fourth order was a double burger with only ketchup and medium fries. This order was placed on a separate check, so a human inside the restaurant took over the order.
WOSU spoke with Wendy's Chief Information Officer Kevin Vasconi about the new technology and what the company has seen from it so far. He said the AI technology is currently being deployed at four locations in Columbus, with a fifth location scheduled for this week. The company plans to expand to more locations in Columbus and another test market in Florida in the future.
Other locations in Columbus currently using AI technology include:
- 5771 Maxtown Road, Westerville
- 1851 W. Henderson Road in Columbus
- 1600 Georgesville Square in Columbus
Basconi said the technology is more accurate than humans and saves an average of 22 seconds on orders at the Westerville store. He said that while it may not seem like a big difference to outside observers, it makes a big difference to staff inside the store at busy times and to customers waiting in line.
“There is no pause when you pull up to the speaker box. The AI agent is on and not taking a break. This also helps in terms of speeding up the order cycle for the consumer,” Basconi said. said.
Basconi said acceptance of the technology is important for both crew and consumers to make it work. He said customers have embraced the change and crew members are “supportive” of the technology, although they aren't completely sold on it.
Wendy's isn't the only fast food restaurant chain getting into the AI business. Other companies, including White Castle and McDonald's, are also testing the technology.
Wendy's said in a press release that it also measured order accuracy. On average his 86% of orders were found to be accurate, but in some samplings he says the accuracy exceeds 90%.
Basconi said AI is expected to get smarter and more accurate with repetition.
“Some of these orders are quite complex, right? I want extra pickles, I want a light mayonnaise. And it's an interesting challenge from a technology perspective. Because you're not ordering it from someone else,” Basconi said.
Accuracy improved to 99% when a crew member stepped in to complete the order because the order was too complex or the customer requested to speak to a real person, the company said in a statement.
Basconi said he could not speak to whether AI would lead to the elimination of specific jobs in broader society, but the company has not eliminated any jobs where AI is used. The company said it is not focused on savings. money for labor. He said eliminating open positions due to AI is not in the company's plans.
“The business problem we're solving is speed and accuracy, and we're incorporating humans into that process,” Basconi said.
Wendy's is headquartered in Dublin, but was founded in Columbus in 1969. Basconi said the area is a perfect place to test the technology.
“Our headquarters are here. We have a large technology team here. So it's not only a good market from a pilot standpoint, but also for the people at Wendy's and, in fact, Chipotle. I think we have the talent. .That's what works here,'' Basconi said.
