Chatbots at the drive-thru are just the beginning
Chatbots at the drive-thru are just the beginning
得来速（Drive-thru）聊天机器人仅仅是个开始
By Emma Roth | May 17, 2026 作者：Emma Roth | 2026年5月17日
How it started
起源
In 2021, McDonald’s became one of the first major fast-food chains to greet customers with an AI chatbot at the drive-thru. It started small, deploying the voice-ordering technology at 10 of its locations in Chicago. McDonald’s developed its drive-thru tech after acquiring Apprente, a startup focused on voice-based, conversational technology in 2019, and later worked with IBM to scale automated ordering.
2021年，麦当劳成为首批在得来速（Drive-thru）窗口使用人工智能聊天机器人接待顾客的大型快餐连锁店之一。起初规模较小，仅在芝加哥的10家门店部署了语音点餐技术。麦当劳在2019年收购了专注于语音对话技术的初创公司Apprente，随后与IBM合作，扩大了自动化点餐系统的规模。
This was only the beginning of the AI drive-thru. Checkers and Rally’s teamed up with the AI company Presto to put a chatbot at all corporate-owned drive-thrus in the US in 2022, with the goal of selling more food and drinks to customers and improving order accuracy. The company also said the tech will “free up staff for more people-dependent areas of their business.”
这仅仅是AI得来速的开端。2022年，Checkers和Rally’s与人工智能公司Presto合作，在其美国所有直营店的得来速窗口安装了聊天机器人，旨在向顾客销售更多食品和饮料，并提高订单准确性。该公司还表示，这项技术将“把员工从重复性工作中解放出来，投入到更需要人工的业务领域”。
Wendy’s and Taco Bell followed suit. In 2023, Wendy’s launched its “FreshAI” chatbot at one of its drive-thrus in Columbus, Ohio. The company worked with Google to develop an AI chatbot trained on the franchise’s lingo, so it understands that a “milkshake” is a “Frosty” and that a “JBC” is a “junior bacon cheeseburger.” Wendy’s began expanding the technology months after its launch, saying that it got orders right without employee intervention 86 percent of the time.
温迪（Wendy’s）和塔可钟（Taco Bell）紧随其后。2023年，温迪在俄亥俄州哥伦布市的一家得来速门店推出了“FreshAI”聊天机器人。该公司与谷歌合作开发了一款经过该品牌术语训练的AI聊天机器人，因此它能听懂“奶昔”就是“Frosty”，而“JBC”指的是“初级培根芝士汉堡”。温迪在推出该技术几个月后就开始推广，并称其在无需员工干预的情况下，订单准确率达到了86%。
Taco Bell had been testing its Voice AI drive-thru around the same time and later announced plans to expand the technology to hundreds of locations in the US by the end of 2024. Similar to other fast food chains, Taco Bell pitched the idea as a way to reduce the task load for employees and slash drive-thru wait times. Other chains began trying out the technology as well, including Panera Bread, White Castle, Carl’s Jr., Hardee’s, Panda Express, and Popeyes.
塔可钟在大约同一时间测试了其语音AI得来速，并随后宣布计划在2024年底前将该技术推广到美国数百家门店。与其他快餐连锁店类似，塔可钟将此举宣传为减轻员工工作负担、缩短得来速等待时间的一种方式。其他连锁店也开始尝试这项技术，包括Panera Bread、White Castle、Carl’s Jr.、Hardee’s、熊猫快餐（Panda Express）和Popeyes。
How it’s going
现状
By now, you might’ve encountered at least one AI chatbot at one of your local fast-food chains. I spoke to one at Checkers, where a human quickly took over after I was told one of the sandwiches I tried to order was out of stock. Even as companies continue to expand their use of AI drive-thrus, customers aren’t exactly fans of it.
到目前为止，你可能已经在当地的快餐店遇到过至少一个AI聊天机器人。我在Checkers体验过一次，当我试图点的某种三明治缺货时，人工服务迅速接管了对话。尽管各大公司仍在继续扩大AI得来速的使用范围，但顾客们似乎并不买账。
A January 2025 survey conducted by YouGov found that 55 percent of Americans would prefer a human to take their order at the drive-thru, compared to 21 percent who had no preference, and 4 percent who would rather use an AI chatbot. That generally lukewarm response may be having an impact on some franchises, as McDonald’s ended its partnership with IBM in 2024. One year later, Taco Bell chief digital officer Dane Mathews told The Wall Street Journal that it’s reevaluating its deployment of the AI drive-thru after customers expressed their frustrations on social media and trolled the technology by ordering 18,000 water cups. Some people suggest making similarly outrageous orders or speaking in a different language just to bypass the tech and speak to a human worker.
YouGov在2025年1月进行的一项调查显示，55%的美国人更喜欢由人工在得来速窗口点餐，相比之下，21%的人表示无所谓，只有4%的人更倾向于使用AI聊天机器人。这种普遍冷淡的反应可能对一些连锁店产生了影响，麦当劳已于2024年终止了与IBM的合作。一年后，塔可钟首席数字官Dane Mathews告诉《华尔街日报》，在顾客于社交媒体上表达不满，甚至通过点18,000杯水来“戏弄”该技术后，公司正在重新评估AI得来速的部署。有些人建议通过下达类似的离谱订单或使用外语交流，来绕过技术限制，直接与人工服务员对话。
Customer frustration isn’t the only snag AI drive-thrus are running into; their credibility is an issue, too. Last year, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Presto — the company that powers the AI drive-thrus at Checkers, Rally’s, Carl’s Jr., Hardee’s, and now, Dairy Queen — with misleading customers about the capabilities of its technology. In 2023, an SEC filing revealed that human workers in the Philippines stepped in for most orders taken by Presto’s AI system.
顾客的挫败感并不是AI得来速遇到的唯一障碍；其可信度也是一个问题。去年，美国证券交易委员会（SEC）指控Presto公司（为Checkers、Rally’s、Carl’s Jr.、Hardee’s以及现在的Dairy Queen提供AI得来速技术支持）误导顾客，夸大了其技术能力。2023年的一份SEC文件显示，Presto AI系统处理的大多数订单实际上是由菲律宾的人工员工介入完成的。
What happens next
未来展望
Fast-food chains are taking AI beyond the drive-thru. Though The Wall Street Journal reports that McDonald’s is giving AI-powered drive-thrus a second chance, it’s also exploring other ways to utilize the technology, including a system that predicts when its equipment (like its seemingly always out-of-order ice cream machine) is likely to break down. The company is also using AI-powered scales to compare the target weight of an order versus its actual weight, and then alert employees if something is missing, potentially helping workers remember to pack your to-go bag with fries.
快餐连锁店正在将AI的应用范围扩展到得来速之外。尽管《华尔街日报》报道称麦当劳正在给AI得来速第二次机会，但它也在探索利用该技术的其他方式，包括一套能预测设备（比如那台似乎永远在维修的冰淇淋机）何时可能发生故障的系统。该公司还利用AI秤来对比订单的目标重量与实际重量，如果发现缺货，系统会提醒员工，这或许能帮助员工记得在你的外带袋子里放上薯条。
Burger King, which is running a limited test of AI drive-thrus, announced in February that it’s piloting an AI assistant, called “Patty,” that lives inside employees’ headsets. Workers can chat with the AI assistant if they need help preparing food, such as if they forget how many strips of bacon to put on a Texas Double Whopper. At the same time, Patty listens to employees to evaluate them for friendliness. That means tracking whether they say “welcome to Burger King,” “please,” and “thank you.” Burger King also uses AI to inform managers when a machine is down for maintenance or if an item is out of stock, as well as to remove affected items from the digital menu board.
正在进行AI得来速有限测试的汉堡王（Burger King）在2月宣布，正在试用一款名为“Patty”的AI助手，它集成在员工的耳机中。如果员工在准备食物时需要帮助，例如忘记了德州双层皇堡（Texas Double Whopper）需要放几片培根，他们可以与AI助手对话。同时，Patty还会监听员工的对话，以评估他们的服务态度，即追踪他们是否说了“欢迎光临汉堡王”、“请”和“谢谢”。汉堡王还利用AI在机器停机维护或商品缺货时通知经理，并自动从数字菜单板上移除受影响的商品。
Taco Bell is experimenting with an AI-driven menu board, too. But instead of just using AI to remove items from the menu, it will use the technology to “dynamically change the layout, content, and visuals on a car-by-car basis,” Ranjith Roy, the chief financial officer of Taco Bell parent company Yum!, said during the company’s most recent earnings call. Roy doesn’t expand on this, but it seems like it could allow Taco Bell to adjust what’s on the menu based on the customers pulling up.
塔可钟也在试验AI驱动的菜单板。但它不仅仅是用AI来移除菜单上的商品，而是利用这项技术“根据每辆车的情况动态调整布局、内容和视觉效果”，塔可钟母公司百胜餐饮集团（Yum!）的首席财务官Ranjith Roy在最近的财报电话会议上表示。Roy没有对此进行详细说明，但这似乎意味着塔可钟可以根据驶入窗口的顾客情况来调整菜单内容。
Other uses of AI are picking up traction as well. Both Culver’s and Zaxbys are working with a company called Berry AI to put camera timers at the drive-thru to capture data about traffic flow.
其他AI应用也正在获得关注。Culver’s和Zaxbys都在与一家名为Berry AI的公司合作，在得来速窗口安装摄像头计时器，以获取关于车流量的数据。