Bojangles has no qualms about accelerating its investment in drive-thru voice AI.
Following a successful pilot with Hi Auto, an AI drive-thru voice provider, the chain signed an agreement to roll out the tech in hundreds of its 800 locations, in both franchisee and company-owned stores.
The AI assistant, named, “Bo-Linda,” is already in place in about 200 locations, with more added on a near daily basis.
Richard Del Valle, Bojangles chief information officer, emphasizes the company’s commitment to stay ahead of the curve. “Our aim is to be an aggressive, early adopter,” he stated.
Bo-Linda uses natural launching processing and voice recognition to handle orders. It can also receive information from employees, such as wait times for menu items or out-of-stock alerts, and communicates these details to customers when “talking”.
This functionality has helped shift employees’ perspectives, viewing Bo-Linda as a valuable team member rather than a replacement.
Roy Baharav, CEO of Hi Auto said, “We believe in technology that works hand-in-hand with human capabilities. Our AI solution is designed to enhance, not replace, the valuable skills and expertise of Bojangles’ employees.”
Del Valle said the system takes more than 96 percent of orders without human intervention.
“This directly promotes overall satisfaction by offloading order-taking tasks from team members to enable their focus to be on providing a fantastic and consistent customer experience,” he said.
Drive-thru voice AI tech is increasingly being adopted by restaurants. Checkers & Rally’s, for example, has implemented Hi Auto’s system and even introduced a Spanish-speaking version last year. Taco John’s has partnered with Presto, while Wendy’s is testing the technology through Google, among others.
However, some restaurants are going back to the drawing board. McDonald’s recently pulled the plug on its drive-thru AI test with IBM.
This trend has also led several companies to collaborate in advancing voice AI in drive-thrus. ConverseNow acquired Valyant AI, Checkmate acquired VoiceBite and SoundHound joined forces with Allset.
