When the pandemic ended, many restaurateurs planned to reduce dining space, invest in AI and other technology, and commit to improving the drive-thru experience. A recent QSR report showed that drive-thrus are impressive revenue generators, and the locations they studied offered an 88 per cent upsell rate to guests. Along with raising revenues, technology-enabled drive-thrus can help better manage inventory, quicken the experience, alleviate some labour stress, and improve the customer experience.

Today’s technology

Several technologies have emerged in recent years to help improve restaurant drive-thrus, including:

• Live sales for the kitchen. This means that each item is sent to the kitchen as it is ordered, eliminating waiting times while the rest of the items are decided upon and ordered. This technology has been credited with speeding up the process by up to 30 per cent.
• License plate recognition. Recognizing the license plate of the driver can help personalize the experience, quicken repeat order times, and include upselling opportunities based on customer preferences.
• Live menu boards. These are automated menu boards that are updated in real-time to reflect inventory levels, LTOs, wait times, and more.
• AI ordering. Similar to chatbots used on websites, this technology has been met with speculation as it has the potential to speed up ordering as long as accuracy remains high.

These technologies aim to improve the guest experience, help operators reallocate their labour, and better manage their inventory.

Restaurant adoption

In 2022, Taco Bell launched its new concept, Defy, a two-story building with four drive-thru lanes running under the building – and no indoor dining area. After being tested, research showed that the the average wait time to order was just over 24 seconds and the average time between ordering and receiving that order was around 2½ minutes, totalling just under three minutes for the visit. These days, Taco Bell is incorporating AI into its drive-thru operations, freeing up employees for other tasks and improving speediness of the experience.

Conversely, McDonald’s was in the headlines recently stating that they were ending their efforts to add AI to their drive-thrus following several customer complaints about receiving inaccurate orders.

Wendy’s has also tested AI in their drive-thrus in partnership with Google Cloud in an effort to simplify the ordering process and expedite operations. They plan to include new generative AI offerings, that can have conversations with customers, understand made-to-order requests and quickly generate responses to frequently asked questions.

As drive-thrus are responsible for about 70 per cent of QSR revenues on average, many operators are planning to stand out, offer a better experience, and increase profits with today’s technology.