By Isabelle Bousquette

The most transformative technology in over a century may have finally found its limit: ordering tacos.

Since last year, Taco Bell has rolled out voice AI-powered ordering at more than 500 drive-through locations, and now the chain is realizing that not every customer is a fan of the new tech.

Some have taken to social media to complain about glitches and delays. Others are simply just weirded out. And then there is a contingent intent on trolling the system with orders like, "18,000 cups of water, please."

"We're learning a lot, I'm going to be honest with you," said Taco Bell Chief Digital and Technology Officer Dane Mathews.

Even Mathews said he has had mixed experiences with it. "I think like everybody, sometimes it lets me down, but sometimes it really surprises me," he said.

Mathews said he is now thinking carefully about where and where not to use this tech in the future. It might not make sense to exclusively use artificial intelligence at every drive-through, he said. For example, at super busy restaurants with long lines, a human team member might handle things better, he said.

It is the latest sign that nearly three years into the generative AI boom, companies are still simply figuring things out. While many have faith in the technology's promise, they are pivoting and overhauling their AI strategies as they learn more about where the technology is actually working and where it isn't.

Voice AI at the drive-through has been a particularly elusive use case. Last year, McDonald's ended an experiment with International Business Machines aimed at making it work. Chief Information Officer Brian Rice told The Wall Street Journal earlier this year that he is now working on it with Google Cloud. Wendy's said this year that it was expanding use of its drive-through assistant, FreshAi, also built on Google's technology.

Taco Bell parent company Yum Brands has been working on it for years as well. In March it announced a partnership with Nvidia, aimed at potentially helping on this and other AI use cases.

The company is still moving forward on voice AI, which remains a critical part of the product road map. But there are open questions about exactly what Taco Bell will expect the technology to do and where it will build offramps for human staff to jump in.

Mathews said he would work with restaurants to help them figure it out. "For our teams, we'll help coach them: at your restaurant, at these times, we recommend you use voice AI or recommend that you actually really monitor voice AI and jump in as necessary."

Exact plans are still developing, as the chain continues analyzing data from the more than two million customer orders AI has taken so far.

"I can tell you it's a very active conversation inside Taco Bell in partnership with our franchisees," he said. "I think at the end of the day, it's really, really early. And we feel that. And I think other brands feel that, too."

Write to Isabelle Bousquette at isabelle.bousquette@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 28, 2025 09:00 ET (13:00 GMT)

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