In another round of “Is AI taking our jobs?,” Wendy’s will hand the drive-thru headset to AI by the end of 2025 — because what could possibly go wrong with letting a robot interpret your order for a Baconator?
What You Need to Know
During a Feb. 13 earnings call, CEO Kirk Tanner announced that Wendy’s plans to have AI-powered voice assistants taking orders at 500 to 600 of its nearly 6,000 U.S. locations.
The initiative, known as FreshAI, is a collaboration with Google Cloud and aims to improve order accuracy and speed. Tanner says he personally tests FreshAI three to four times a week at a Wendy’s near the company’s headquarters in Dublin, Ohio.
How FreshAI Works
According to Tanner, FreshAI “improves the customer experience and enables some labor efficiencies,” meaning it takes orders while employees focus on making food. The AI is designed to “understand what to ask for” and “allow customers to build their orders.” In theory, that means it should handle modifications without confusion — but we’ll see how well that actually works in a busy drive-thru.
Customer Reactions
Wendy’s patrons are divided on the new addition to the drive-thru. Some are excited about the opportunity to avoid human interaction, with one writing, “Sad to say this, but AI drive-thru is way better than with real people.” Another added, “AI isn’t going to act annoyed that I’m there and keep trying to cut me off.”
The naysayers, however, aren’t convinced. “The AI ordertakers are garbage and get the order wrong so often I’ve had to have a employee start taking my order instead ” wrote one annoyed customer. “Guess I will be ordering 40,000 waters at Wendy’s now,” another Redditor joked.
What This Means for Jobs
Wendy’s insists this isn’t about cutting jobs, just making service smoother. Employees will focus on food prep while AI takes orders. That said, if the tech proves reliable (and cheaper), it wouldn’t be surprising to see fewer human workers at the drive-thru in the future.
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