Wendy’s Is Beefing Up Its Drive-Thrus By Staffing Them With Chatbots

When hunger strikes and you’re on the go, drive-thrus can be a lifesaver. But what if you could place your order without interacting with a human being? That’s exactly what Wendy’s aims to achieve by introducing chatbots to its restaurants.

To make this happen, the fast-food giant has teamed up with Google’s natural language software to train its AI to take food orders. By fine-tuning its large language model, Wendy’s hopes to teach the machine to understand its customers’ unique terms, phrases, and acronyms. So, whether you’re in the mood for “biggie bags” or a “JBC,” the chatbot will likely have you covered.

Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, Wendy’s CEO, Todd Penegor, mentions that the chatbot will be so realistic that one might mistake it for an actual employee. However, Google Cloud’s CEO, Thomas Kurian, acknowledges that there are technical challenges to overcome. For example, handling customer requests quickly and efficiently is currently something only humans can do.

However, once Wendy’s chatbot is fully developed, it can handle customers changing their orders midway through the conversation and even promote daily specials.

The first chatbot will debut at a Wendy’s in Columbus, Ohio, this June. 

[via The Wall Street Journal and PC Mag, Photo 39502229 © Ken Wolter | Dreamstime.com]