Conversational AI Powers Drive-Thru
Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken Restaurant is implementing a new conversational AI solution from Hi Auto to enhance drive-thru service by reducing wait times and increasing order accuracy. This AI technology greets customers, answers menu queries, and processes orders efficiently, leading to improved sales and customer satisfaction. With drive-thru orders rising by 22% and wait times increasing by almost 30 seconds, the AI system allows employees to focus on customer interactions, thus enhancing overall service quality.
- Implementation of AI leads to improved accuracy in order taking.
- Increased average check size due to AI suggesting additional items.
- Reduced wait times enhances customer satisfaction.
- Less stressed cashiers can provide better customer service.
- None.
What’s New: Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken Restaurant is using a new conversational artificial intelligence (AI) solution to increase the speed of service and shorten wait times in their drive-thrus. The solution, created by Hi Auto, greets each drive-thru guest and answers questions about the menu before taking and confirming their order.
Employees from Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken restaurants in Ohio receive drive-thru orders via an artificial intelligence assistant that contacts them through their headsets. (Credit: Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken)
“The automated AI drive-thru has impacted my business in a simple way. We don't have customers waiting anymore. We greet them as soon as they get to the board and the order is taken correctly. It's amazing to see the level of accuracy with the voice recognition technology, which helps speed up service. It can even suggest additional items based on the order, which helps us increase our sales. If a person is running the drive-thru, they may suggest a sale in one out of 20 orders. With Hi Auto, it happens in every transaction where it's feasible. So, we see improvements in our average check, service time and improvements in consistency and customer service. And because the cashier is now less stressed, she can focus on customer service as well. A less-burdened employee will be a happier employee, and we want happy employees interacting with our customers.”
– Chuck Doran, owner and operator of Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken Restaurant in Englewood, Ohio
Why It Matters: Last year, drive-thru orders in the United States increased by
“At Lee's, we met a team that puts its heart and soul into serving its customers,” said Roy Baharav, chief executive officer and co-founder of Hi Auto. “We operationalized our AI system based on what we learned from the owners, general managers and employees. They have embraced the solution and within a short time began reaping the benefits. We are now applying the process and lessons learned at additional customer sites.”
How It Works: Created by Hi Auto, the AI solution greets the guest, answers questions, suggests menu items and enters the orders into the point-of-sale system. The technology isolates the consumer’s speech to ensure order accuracy and converses like a person. It is always polite, and if the guest asks an unrelated question or asks for something not on the menu, the AI automatically switches to a Lee’s employee to intervene. It also seamlessly integrates with Lee’s existing employee headset system, allowing employees to provide real-time updates to inventory, as needed. The AI solution runs on Intel® Xeon® processors in the cloud and Intel® NUC.
“We’re increasingly seeing restaurants interested in leveraging AI to deliver actionable data and personalize customer experiences,” said Joe Jensen, vice president of the Internet of Things Group and general manager of Retail, Banking, Hospitality and Education at Intel. “With Hi Auto’s solution powered by Intel® technology, quick-service restaurants (QSRs) can help their employees be more productive while increasing customer satisfaction and, ultimately, their bottom line.”
What Comes Next: Lee’s is planning to deploy Hi Auto’s conversational AI in additional drive-thru locations. Pilots with the largest QSRs are already underway. And Hi Auto’s engineers are adding Spanish language capabilities to the solution, which is available as an Intel IoT Market Ready Solution.
More Context: Lee’s Famous Recipe Restaurant Uses Conversational AI to Power Drive-Thru (Video) | Artificial Intelligence at Intel | Intel Hospitality | How Lee’s Famous Recipe Overcame Hiring Crisis with Conversational AI (Webinar)
Intel Customer Stories: Intel Customer Spotlight on Intel.com | Customer Stories on Intel Newsroom
About Intel
Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) is an industry leader, creating world-changing technology that enables global progress and enriches lives. Inspired by Moore’s Law, we continuously work to advance the design and manufacturing of semiconductors to help address our customers’ greatest challenges. By embedding intelligence in the cloud, network, edge and every kind of computing device, we unleash the potential of data to transform business and society for the better. To learn more about Intel’s innovations, go to newsroom.intel.com and intel.com.
© Intel Corporation. Intel, the Intel logo and other Intel marks are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries. Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210520005228/en/
FAQ
What AI solution is Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken using?
How does the AI solution impact sales at Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken?
What percentage increase in drive-thru orders was reported in the U.S. last year?
What challenges does the AI solution help address in drive-thru operations?
What future plans does Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken have for the AI solution?
