Burger King Is Rethinking AI Drive-Thrus: ‘Guests Don’t Want to Talk to a Bot’

Burger King is learning that not every customer enjoys chatting with AI about their Whopper. The chain has tested AI voice ordering in drive-thrus for several years with partners including Google. Now it’s rethinking the approach, according to Restaurant Business.

Chakri Somisetti, Burger King’s VP of brand technologies, told the FSTEC conference last week that forcing AI on customers backfired. “There are drive offs because guests don’t want to talk to a bot,” he said.

Technomic research backs up the hesitation. Only 23% of consumers find AI drive-thru ordering appetizing, while 46% find it a turnoff. The test continues in 50 to 70 BK locations. But Burger King is building a way for customers to choose a human instead.

Rivals are also leaning into hospitality to revive traffic. McDonald’s just announced an $8.5 billion investment that includes service training. KFC is testing table service at a new prototype restaurant.

This doesn’t mean Burger King has soured on tech. It spent $400 million unifying its systems as part of its “Reclaim the Flame” turnaround and uses an AI headset assistant named Patty to coach staff.