Taco Bell Hits Pause on AI Drive-Thru After Hilarious, and Costly, System Errors
Fast food giant Taco Bell is re-evaluating its reliance on artificial intelligence after its AI-powered drive-thru ordering system proved surprisingly…unintelligent. What was intended to speed up service and reduce errors has rather led to customer frustration and viral videos showcasing the technology’s limitations.
The issues range from the absurd – one customer managed to crash the system with an order for 18,000 glasses of water – to the simply annoying. A widely-shared instagram video, racking up over 20 million views, shows a customer repeatedly asked “What will you drink with that?” after ordering a large beverage. While amusing to some, the incidents are hardly the advertising Taco Bell desires.
Taco Bell first began implementing the AI drive-thru system in 2023,and currently utilizes it at over 500 locations. Despite processing over 2 million orders, the system has demonstrably slowed down service and increased errors, defeating its original purpose.
“We’ve
