--- title: "Wendy’s Installing Drive-Thru AI Chatbot That Takes Your Order" description: "Wendy's is the latest fast-food chain to get in on the AI craze with its announcement about a chatbot that will take customer orders." date: "2023-05-10" modified: "2023-05-10" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/wendys-drive-thru-ai-chatbot" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "ai chatbots" - "fast food" - "the digest" --- # Wendy’s Installing Drive-Thru AI Chatbot That Takes Your Order ![Wendy's is the latest fast-food chain to get in on the AI craze with its announcement about chatbots that will take customer orders.]() *\Image: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images\* ## Fries With That? Wendy's is the latest fast food chain to get in on the AI craze. The company has [announced]() that it will let an AI chatbot take customer orders at the drive-thru window. The [*Wall Street Journal* reports]() that the Ohio-based company will be introducing an AI chatbot, developed by Google's cloud-computing division, to one of its Columbus locations as it tests out whether the technology can help "streamline" its business. While we don't know much about the chatbot yet, including how much it costs or what kind of interface it will use, a glib comment from Wendy's CEO Todd Penegor reveals the dystopian undertones of the whole endeavor. "It will be very conversational," Penegor told the *Journal*. "You won’t know you’re talking to anybody but an employee." ## Drive-Thru Meltdown As if that wasn't creepy enough, the timing of this announcement could also be telling given that in January, [Wendy's announced]() that it is "restructuring" its business and that layoffs were possible. Heading off concerns that Wendy's may seek to replace workers with AI, Penegor told the *WSJ* that AI is not going to replace workers but will instead help them do their jobs better. The argument echoes those [being made]() by [other CEOs]() across industries as they rush to cut costs while still investing big in AI. This isn't the first time a fast-food joint has tried this kind of scheme. Earlier this year, [*Insider* reported]() on a viral trend where people filmed their hilariously bad interactions with the chatbots that have been taking orders at a select number of McDonald's drive-thrus. Some of these customers ended up getting bags of random packs of butter and ketchup without ever asking for them. The takeaway: AIs may not be not ready to replace human labor at the drive-thru lane and could cause more chaos instead of actually supporting employees. To get ahead of any stand-offs at the checkout, Wendy's is having an employee oversee interactions between customers and AI — which might be a wise decision. "You may think driving by and speaking into a drive-through is an easy problem for AI, but it’s actually one of the hardest," Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, who is working on the project, told the *WSJ*. Nevertheless, as CEOs keep trying to find new ways to shoehorn AI tech into their products to appease investors, customers will likely have to interact with a chatbot in one way or another in the near future — whether they like to or not. **More on machine labor:** [*Self-Checkout Machines Ridiculed for Asking for Tips*]() ## 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]()