Taco Bell Expands Voice AI Drive-Thru to 890 Stores as Automation Market Matures

Quick-service restaurant chain Taco Bell has expanded its conversational voice artificial intelligence system across more than 890 locations spanning 38 U.S. states, according to reporting originally detailed by The Next Web. Powered by technology vendor Omilia, the deployment highlights a sector-wide pivot away from isolated trial programs and toward full operational integration across major fast-food brands.

The drive-thru segment presents significant operational demands for fast-food operators, characterized by rapid order pacing, acoustic noise, complex item customizations, and shifting inventory levels. Operators including Wendy’s, Bojangles, Taco John’s, and Zaxby’s have increasingly turned to voice AI order takers to manage routine customer communications, enabling kitchen personnel to concentrate on food assembly and internal guest services.

As restaurant chains broaden their automated drive-thru footprint, market differentiation is increasingly defined by the performance and scale of underlying technology platforms. Specialized automation providers like Hi Auto now maintain substantial operating footprints, deploying its AI Order Taker across approximately 1,000 fast-food locations in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, while handling over 100 million customer transactions annually.

Independent evaluations indicate that real-world execution varies significantly depending on the underlying AI software maturity. Data from Intouch Insight’s 2025 Emerging Experiences Study, which analyzed 120 mystery-shopper visits across locations actively using voice AI, revealed an overall human intervention rate of 22 percent. However, operational consistency differed sharply when comparing individual fast-food brands and their respective vendor platforms.

At Bojangles, where the drive-thru ordering system relies on Hi Auto, employee interventions occurred in only 3 percent of tested interactions. In comparison, human staff were required to step in for 30 percent of transactions at Taco Bell and 33 percent at Wendy’s. Furthermore, 67 percent of shoppers rated the Bojangles ordering process as "easy and smooth," compared to 57 percent at Taco Bell and 23 percent at Wendy’s. The study also noted that Bojangles achieved a 40-second reduction in total wait times alongside a 100 percent rating for speaker clarity.

The operational impact was further underlined when Bojangles designated Hi Auto as its "Legendary Supplier of the Year" in 2025, marking the first time the chain bestowed the award on a technology vendor. The recognition was granted after Hi Auto successfully implemented its customized "Bo-Linda" automated order taker across more than 400 Bojangles restaurants.

Industry analysts note that the goal of automated order taking is not full labor elimination, but rather increasing restaurant throughput and capacity amid ongoing labor constraints. Systems capable of consistently processing complex menu modifications, background sound, and diverse regional accents are increasingly viewed as crucial components of the modern quick-service tech stack, helping support upselling initiatives and revenue growth.