Taco Bell to slow its roll out of AI-powered drive thrus after glitches and trolls: ‘18,000 cups of water please’

The fast food chain announced last year that it would be expanding the use of voice AI technology, which helps take and process orders, but has already encountered difficulties

Taco Bell is reconsidering the roll out of its AI-powered drive thrus after some customers complained about problems with orders and others tried to troll the systems.

The fast food chain announced last year that it would be expanding the use of voice AI technology which helps take and process orders but it has already encountered difficulties.

“We’re learning a lot, I’m going to be honest with you,” Taco Bell Chief Digital and Technology Officer Dane Mathews, told The Wall Street Journal, admitting that he himself had mixed experiences.

“I think, like everybody, sometimes it lets me down but sometimes it really surprises me.”

Customers have vented frustration online with one man venting at being repeatedly asked to add drinks to his order. Another customer crashed the system by ordering “18,000 cups of water please.”

Taco Bell is reconsidering the roll out of its AI-powered drive thrus after some customers complained about problems with orders and others tried to troll the systems (Getty Images)

It comes just over a year after Taco Bell’s parent company, Yum! Brands, announced it planned to roll out the technology at hundreds of drive-thrus across the country. At the time the company said the move was “designed to enhance back-of-house operations for team members and elevate the order experience for consumers.”

The potential benefits, the company said, would include easier workdays for employees, improved order accuracy, more consistent, friendly experience, reduced wait times and higher profit growth.

But Mathews told the WSJ that the company was now reconsidering where and where not to use the AI going forward. He suggested that at restaurants that saw high customer volume human team members might be better equipped to deal with the situation.

He added that training would be provided to help staff members adapt to the changes. “For our teams, we’ll help coach them: at your restaurant, at these times, we recommend you use voice AI or recommend that you actually really monitor voice AI and jump in as necessary,” he said.

The potential benefits, the company said previously, would include easier workdays for employees, improved order accuracy, more consistent, friendly experience, reduced wait times and higher profit growth (Getty Images)

Specifics of the plan are still being developed, though Mathews says conversations are still in the very early stages. The Independent has contacted Taco Bell for further information.

Taco Bell is only the latest fast food franchise to fall victim to glitchy AI.

Last year McDonald’s removed its own AI-powered ordering tools from its drive-thru restaurants in the U.S. after customers shared similar experiences of the technology going wrong online.

Like at Taco Bell, the systems were used extensively, including at more than 100 McDonald’s restaurants since first being introduced as part of a test in 2021.

But the Golden Arches pulled them all after a number of videos and posts appeared online detailing ordering mishaps such as bacon being added to ice cream and hundreds of dollars worth of chicken nuggets being added to an order.