The next time you order a Blizzard at a Dairy Queen drive-thru, you could be talking to AI.
The fast food chain is expanding a test with restaurant technology platform Presto to bring voice AI to select drive-thrus across the U.S., the companies said Thursday.
Presto markets its technology as an AI voice assistant that takes drive-thru orders and handles customer interactions.
Dairy Queen said it tested the technology in its corporate stores and is now rolling it out to franchised locations.
“With Presto’s AI, we can enable our staff to focus on high-value tasks that ultimately benefit our fans, with a friendly experience, and high order accuracy,” said Kevin Baartman, executive vice president of IT at Dairy Queen.
The company did not say how many franchised locations would be part of the test, but The Wall Street Journal reported it involves “several dozen” out of roughly 3,000 drive-thrus across the U.S. and Canada.
Baartman told the Journal the chatbots were successful during the initial test, improving customer satisfaction scores by double-digit percentages.
Presto says its AI technology results in shorter wait times and more accurate orders in the drive-thru, while also increasing revenue through “consistent upsells.”
Dairy Queen’s expansion comes as other fast food chains turn to AI to manage drive-thru operations. Presto is also working with Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s, while Wendy’s has partnered with Google.
Americans remain skeptical. More than half of respondents (55%) in a Jan. 2025 YouGov survey said they would prefer a human to take their order at the drive-thru, compared with just 4% who preferred an AI chatbot.
Among those who had actually used an AI drive-thru chatbot, 14% said they would prefer to order from one.
-NewsNation
