If you’re a Wendy’s fan, get ready to order your Baconator and Frosty in a whole new way. Instead of speaking with a Wendy’s employee to place your order at the drive-thru, you’ll soon be talking to a robot — technically, an AI voice-enabled ordering system. The new system, called Fresh AI, will replace human employees during the ordering phase of the drive-thru. The new system was introduced to 100 of the country’s 6,000 Wendy’s locations last year, with that number expanding to another 500-600 locations this year. Over time, Wendy’s intends to roll out the new technology to all of its locations. As you can imagine, not everyone is embracing the conversion. Social media is filled with comments lamenting the loss of yet more jobs and complaining about their less-than-stellar experiences with AI. One commenter pointed out that he had ordered a cheeseburger and a Sprite, but AI turned the order into 10 milkshakes with extra mustard. Others noted problems with AI not being able to customize orders properly and not understanding people’s accents. Some even said they would no longer eat at Wendy’s. It’s disingenuous to say that this isn’t about money, because this sort of automation likely translates to significant savings. That said, Wendy’s is highlighting the increased efficiency and improved customer service that it says will result from these changes.
