TECHNOLOGY
RESTAURANT AI GETS A MUCH- NEEDED REALITY CHECK
Tech Check: Taco Bell’s reassessment of its drive-thru AI is a reminder that the technology has limits. But that doesn’t mean it can’t still be useful.
BY JOE GUSZKOWSKI
I t has been a tough stretch for artificial intelligence recently, both in restaurants and beyond. A much-discussed MIT study pub- lished in July found that 95% of organiza- tions using generative AI saw no return on the investment. That sparked talk of an AI bubble. Then, in August, as if to underscore the MIT research, Taco Bell told the Wall Street Journal that it’s rethinking how it uses voice AI in the drive-thru, raising questions about the technology’s readiness. All in all, it has taken some wind out of AI’s sails. And oddly, it feels like a relief. Artificial intelligence in the year 2025 has become a two-headed beast: There is the technology itself, and then there is the con- versation around it. Over the past two years, the latter has seemed to drown out the former. It has turned everyone, even restaurants, (even me!) into armchair Nostradamuses, inclined to proclaim AI as the biggest thing since the internet or the Industrial Revolution. While those predictions may end up be- ing true, the fact is, no one really knows. And yet the hyperbole has created a mystique that is almost impossible to live up to. The recent setbacks have exposed a more complicated reality: AI is moving quickly, but not always in a straight line. In the restau- rant industry, in particular, we’re still very much in the learning phase. Taco Bell deserves credit for its approach to the situation. After putting AI in about 500 drive-thrus, it has learned that the tech- nology has limits. It can be helpful, but not
SOME RECENT DEVELOPMENTS HAVE TAKEN THE WIND OUT OF AI’S SAILS. | ILLUSTRATION BY NICO HEINS/MIDJOURNEY
thousands of locations are now using hand- held scanners that automatically count in- ventory. Previously, staffers counted man- ually with pen and paper and then entered the numbers into the computer. The new tech saves them hours every week and gives the chain a more accurate picture of its stock. Since the tool was in- troduced, stores are now taking inventory 8 times more frequently, said CTO Deb Hall Lefevre in a blog post. That kind of practical application isn’t going to calm fears of an AI bubble or help sell more Nvidia stock. Nor will it grab as many headlines as Taco Bell’s mea culpa. But it seems to be working for Starbucks, which sees a bright future for the technology. “By the end of September, AI-powered automated counting will be live in all com- pany-operated coffeehouses across North America,” wrote Lefevre in a blog post. “And this is just the beginning.”
in every scenario, like when the restaurant is very busy. The chain is not pulling out of drive-thru AI altogether, but it’s taking a closer look at how it should be used. “For our teams, we’ll help coach them: at your restaurant, at these times, we rec- ommend you use voice AI or recommend that you actually really monitor voice AI and jump in as necessary,” Chief Digital and Technology Officer Dane Mathews told the Journal. The lesson there is that rather than thinking of AI as some kind of all-or-nothing proposition, restaurants should treat it more like what it actually is right now: a tool. AI is not the right solution for every problem. It’s not going to transform the busi- ness all by itself. But it can be nice to have in the toolbox. A couple of days after the Taco Bell re- port got the industry talking, Starbucks an- nounced that it is rolling out an AI-powered inventory tracking system. Employees in
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RESTAURANT BUSINESS OCTOBER 2025
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