When restaurants attempt to use cutting-edge technology in ways that benefit their bottom line, their customers generally don’t respond well. It’s not that consumers don’t like artificial intelligence (AI) or other tech in restaurants; they broadly don’t like hearing how it will be used in ways that don’t benefit them.

That was broadly clear when Wendy’s executives made the mistake of talking about their efforts to use dynamic pricing to charge people more during busier periods.

“As seen in recent weeks with national media coverage on the topic, dynamic or surge pricing models don’t sit well with customers. According to the survey, 64% of diners said they have a negative reaction to restaurants using surge and dynamic pricing. Additionally, 81% of diners surveyed said they would either stop going to a restaurant altogether or alter their dining hours to avoid prices surging during peak hours,” according to a national survet from Hunger Rush.

This survey came after Wendy’s shared that it had been testing dynamic pricing and planned to roll it out in 2024. That prompted a massive backlash and burger chain had to walk it back.

“We said these menuboards would give us more flexibility to change the display of featured items,” the company said, Fortune reported. “This was misconstrued in some media reports as an intent to raise prices when demand is highest at our restaurants. We have no plans to do that and would not raise prices when our customers are visiting us most.”

Some, like Masschusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren did not see Wendy’s plan as being about lowering prices.

“It’s price gouging plain and simple, and American families have had enough,” she wrote in a post on X, the former Twitter.

Wendy’s gaffe was arguably the start of of its current struggles. That’s at least partially why Yum Brands CFO Ranjith Roy has been very careful in discussing his company’s articial intelligence (AI) plans.

KFC and Taco Bell plan to use AI

Consumers generally have no issue with companies using AI as long as they’re not using it to charge them more. Starbucks, for example, has added AI into some stores to help with inventory and other issues that benefit customers, but ate not customer facing.

Yum Brands has already integrated its AI technology platform at its U.S. KFC stores and will soon do so at American KFC locations. Customers may notice the change, but they may benefit from it.

“Finally, Byte Connect, a product that streamlines order and menu integration with third-party delivery partners has expanded to KFC U.S., Taco Bell U.S. will add this service next year,” Ro shared during Yum Brands’ third quarter earnings call.

The CFO has very very high hopes for the technology.

“Under easy operations, we are simplifying restaurant operations and giving teams better tools to deliver fast, accurate and friendly service. Byte Coach, which delivers AI recommendations to our store managers, was deployed to an additional 4,000 KFC restaurants internationally this quarter, bringing the total to more than 28,000 restaurants across the Yum! system,” he added.

KFC has already added AI to some U.S. stores.

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AI can help restaurants process data

AI, as it has in some Starbucks locations, can take the guess work out of ordering. It can examine customer patterns and help managers make more informed decisions.

That’s at least partially how KFC and Taco Bell are using Byte Coach.

“Beginning next year, we’ll add further AI capabilities to Byte Coach to provide restaurant general managers, individualized guidance to help improve store-level performance based on inputs from a combination of operations, consumer feedback and store audit data,” Roy said. “Within easy insights, our data and analytics capabilities are providing better visibility and faster, more actionable insights across brands.”

More Restaurants 

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  • Major restaurant chain’s $10.99 burger deals McDonald’s, Wendy’s blow
  • McDonald’s is following Wendy’s by closing restaurants
  • Regional Mexican restaurant abruptly closes all locations

The AI can also help with the chains’ promotional efforts.

“Byte Commerce, our scalable and global web and mobile app ordering platform, continued to unlock the creativity of our digital marketing teams by enabling viral promotions or daily drops that drive high transaction velocity, such as Pizza Hut’s $2 Personal Pan offer,” he added.

AI is not perfected for restaurants

While McDonald’s used AI technology at its drive-thrus, the chain has struggled with technology overall. As an occasional customer. I find its ordering kiosks the opposite of intuitive.

Instead of its knowing what I want, I usually have to find how to actually order what I’m looking for. On a recent visit, for example, I want iced coffee and not hot coffee my breakfast deal.

At first, that was very hard to find, and while I did it, the solution was challenging enough that I did not remember it about a week later when I visited again.

Here’s how McDonald’s, Domino’s and other chains use AI

  • McDonald’s AI Drive-Thru and Operations” McDonald’s uses AI voice technology for drive-thrus and predictive tools in back-of-house operations, including kitchen monitoring and potential AI managers, according to Shiv Lab.
  • Wendy’s AI Ordering Expansion: Wendy’s is expanding its AI voice ordering system, FreshAI, across hundreds of drive-thrus to take orders and interact with customers, Business Insider reported.
  • Denny’s Robot Servers (BellaBot): Denny’s uses an AI-powered robot server called BellaBot to deliver food, interact with customers, and support staff, accoding to Menu Tiger.
  • Chipotle ans Robotics/AI Tools: Chipotle is experimenting with autonomous kitchen assistants like Chippy and uses AI for ordering personalization and smart kitchen systems, the company shared in a press release.
  • Starbucks Deep Brew AI Personalization: Starbucks uses its Deep Brew AI to personalize menu suggestions and tailor offers through its loyalty program, according to Edume.
  • Facial Recognition and AI Ordering Trials (KFC China) KFC tested AI facial recognition at a Beijing location to suggest menu items based on customer traits, Orders.co reported.
  • AI Drive-Thru Ordering & Voice Bots
    Chains like Panera Bread, Wingstop, Domino’s are testing AI voice assistants to take orders and improve accuracy at drive-thrus and phone lines, according to Eat This Not That.

Related: McDonald’s makes big change to prevent the $20 Big Mac