--- title: "Panera Bread Is Replacing Humans With AI At Drive-Thru Windows" description: "The Panera Bread fast casual chain has announced that it plans to test out AI at its drive-thru's, bringing us that much closer to the uncanny valley." date: "2022-09-05" modified: "2022-09-05" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/panera-drive-thru-ai" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "ai" - "artificial intelligence" - "automation" - "hospitality" - "robot restaurant" - "robots" - "the digest" --- # Panera Bread Is Replacing Humans With AI At Drive-Thru Windows ![The Panera Bread fast casual chain has announced that it plans to test out AI at its drive-thru's, bringing us that much closer to the uncanny valley.]() *\Image: Panera Bread\* ## Cowboys From Bread Equally loved and [loathed by consumers]() nationwide, the Panera Bread fast casual chain has announced that it plans to test out artificial intelligence (AI) at its drive-thru windows for some reason. Per a [press release](), Panera said that starting this week, it'll be testing an AI system made by the hospitality technology company OpenCity that's named "Tori" — because the whole thing definitely isn't uncanny valley enough, apparently. Tori, the press release says, will be deployed at two Upstate New York locations and will take orders like a real, live person. An actual human will be the one to take customers' money and hand them their food at the window, but Tori will be the one calling the shots, it seems. "The addition of this technology at the drive-thru will help to cut down wait times, improve order accuracy and allow associates to focus on freshly preparing guests’ orders," reads Panera's statement. ## Damage Brand As [*CNBC* notes](), this isn't Panera's first foray into the world of "hospitality AI," either. Earlier in 2022, the company [began testing automatic coffee temperature-monitoring software]() amid its push towards coffee and tea subscription services. Owned by the restaurant automation company Miso Robotics, the CookRight Coffee system now used in some Panera locations reportedly monitors the volume and temperature of coffee as it's made in-house, and costs each restaurant "a few hundred dollars" per month, company CEO Mike Bell told *CNBC* in April. Panera isn't the first company to test drive-thru AI. McDonald's [has also used voice recognition]() software at some of its drive-thru locations in the Chicago area, for instance, and even [got slapped with a lawsuit]() for failing to alert customers that it was using their biometrics. That said, Panera's use of the Tori AI is taking things to a whole different level — and bringing us one step closer to the [robotic restaurant worker]() singularity we've all been dreading. **READ MORE:** [Panera Bread tests artificial intelligence technology in drive-thru lanes]() \[*CNBC*\] **More robotic hospitality:** [*AI Bartender Slams Out 120 Drinks Per Hour While Cracking Stupid Jokes*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()