SoundHound AI Unveils Next-Generation AI Platform for Restaurants, Enhancing Dynamic Drive-Thru with Omnichannel Ordering
SoundHound AI (Nasdaq: SOUN) has unveiled its next-generation AI platform for restaurants, enhancing its Dynamic Drive-Thru solution with omnichannel ordering capabilities. The platform now extends beyond drive-thru to include Call-to-Order, Text-to-Order, Scan-to-Order, and In-Car Voice Ordering.
Key features include:
- Polaris™ Advanced Speech Recognition Model for improved accuracy
- Fully autonomous voice generative AI operating without human intervention
- AI-driven upselling that offers upsells 100% of the time vs traditional 42%
- Smart Lane Technology enabling pre-ordering
- Advanced analytics and multilingual support
The company currently powers over 10,000 restaurant locations, partnering with major brands like Chipotle, Church's Texas Chicken, Jersey Mike's, and White Castle. At CES 2025, SoundHound also introduced the first-ever in-vehicle voice commerce ecosystem, enabling hands-free food ordering and payment through car infotainment systems.
SoundHound AI (Nasdaq: SOUN) ha presentato la sua piattaforma AI di nuova generazione per ristoranti, migliorando la sua soluzione Dynamic Drive-Thru con capacità di ordinazione omnicanale. La piattaforma ora si estende oltre il drive-thru per includere Call-to-Order, Text-to-Order, Scan-to-Order e ordinazione vocale in auto.
Le caratteristiche principali includono:
- Modello di Riconoscimento Vocale Avanzato Polaris™ per una maggiore precisione
- AI generativa vocale completamente autonoma che opera senza intervento umano
- Upselling guidato dall'AI che offre upsell il 100% delle volte rispetto al 42% tradizionale
- Tecnologia Smart Lane che consente il pre-ordine
- Analisi avanzate e supporto multilingue
L'azienda attualmente supporta oltre 10.000 locali di ristoranti, collaborando con marchi importanti come Chipotle, Church's Texas Chicken, Jersey Mike's e White Castle. Al CES 2025, SoundHound ha anche presentato il primo ecosistema di commercio vocale in-vehicle, che consente ordinazioni e pagamenti per cibo senza mani attraverso i sistemi di infotainment dell'auto.
SoundHound AI (Nasdaq: SOUN) ha presentado su plataforma de IA de próxima generación para restaurantes, mejorando su solución Dynamic Drive-Thru con capacidades de pedido omnicanal. La plataforma ahora se extiende más allá del drive-thru para incluir Call-to-Order, Text-to-Order, Scan-to-Order y pedidos por voz en el automóvil.
Las características clave incluyen:
- Modelo de Reconocimiento de Voz Avanzado Polaris™ para una mayor precisión
- IA generativa de voz completamente autónoma que opera sin intervención humana
- Upselling impulsado por IA que ofrece upsells el 100% del tiempo frente al 42% tradicional
- Tecnología Smart Lane que permite el pre-pedido
- Análisis avanzados y soporte multilingüe
La empresa actualmente opera en más de 10,000 ubicaciones de restaurantes, asociándose con marcas importantes como Chipotle, Church's Texas Chicken, Jersey Mike's y White Castle. En CES 2025, SoundHound también presentó el primer ecosistema de comercio por voz en el vehículo, que permite realizar pedidos y pagos de comida sin manos a través de los sistemas de infoentretenimiento del automóvil.
사운드하운드 AI (Nasdaq: SOUN)가 레스토랑을 위한 차세대 AI 플랫폼을 공개하며, 다이내믹 드라이브 스루 솔루션에 옴니채널 주문 기능을 추가했습니다. 이 플랫폼은 드라이브 스루를 넘어 콜 투 오더, 텍스트 투 오더, 스캔 투 오더 및 차량 내 음성 주문을 포함합니다.
주요 기능은 다음과 같습니다:
- 정확성을 향상시키는 폴라리스™ 고급 음성 인식 모델
- 인간의 개입 없이 작동하는 완전 자율 음성 생성 AI
- 전통적인 42%에 비해 100%의 업셀을 제공하는 AI 기반 업셀링
- 사전 주문을 가능하게 하는 스마트 레인 기술
- 고급 분석 및 다국어 지원
현재 이 회사는 10,000개 이상의 레스토랑 위치를 운영하며, 치폴레, 처치스 텍사스 치킨, 저지 마이크스, 화이트 캐슬과 같은 주요 브랜드와 협력하고 있습니다. CES 2025에서 사운드하운드는 차량 내 음성 상거래 생태계를 처음으로 소개하며, 자동차 인포테인먼트 시스템을 통해 핸즈프리 음식 주문 및 결제를 가능하게 했습니다.
SoundHound AI (Nasdaq: SOUN) a dévoilé sa plateforme IA de nouvelle génération pour les restaurants, améliorant sa solution Dynamic Drive-Thru avec des capacités de commande omnicanal. La plateforme s'étend désormais au-delà du drive-thru pour inclure Call-to-Order, Text-to-Order, Scan-to-Order et commande vocale dans la voiture.
Les principales caractéristiques incluent:
- Modèle de Reconnaissance Vocale Avancée Polaris™ pour une précision améliorée
- IA générative vocale entièrement autonome fonctionnant sans intervention humaine
- Upselling piloté par l'IA qui propose des upsells 100 % du temps contre 42 % traditionnellement
- Technologie Smart Lane permettant le pré-commande
- Analyses avancées et support multilingue
L'entreprise alimente actuellement plus de 10 000 emplacements de restaurants, en partenariat avec des marques majeures telles que Chipotle, Church's Texas Chicken, Jersey Mike's et White Castle. Au CES 2025, SoundHound a également présenté le tout premier écosystème de commerce vocal en véhicule, permettant de commander et de payer des repas sans les mains via les systèmes d'infodivertissement de la voiture.
SoundHound AI (Nasdaq: SOUN) hat seine nächste Generation von KI-Plattform für Restaurants vorgestellt und die Dynamic Drive-Thru-Lösung mit Omnichannel-Bestellmöglichkeiten verbessert. Die Plattform erstreckt sich nun über den Drive-Thru hinaus und umfasst Call-to-Order, Text-to-Order, Scan-to-Order und Sprachbestellungen im Auto.
Wichtige Funktionen sind:
- Polaris™-Modell für fortschrittliche Spracherkennung zur Verbesserung der Genauigkeit
- Vollständig autonome Sprachgenerierungs-KI, die ohne menschliches Eingreifen arbeitet
- KI-gesteuertes Upselling, das 100 % der Zeit Upsells im Vergleich zu traditionellen 42 % anbietet
- Smart Lane-Technologie, die Vorbestellungen ermöglicht
- Fortgeschrittene Analysen und mehrsprachige Unterstützung
Das Unternehmen betreibt derzeit über 10.000 Restaurantstandorte und arbeitet mit großen Marken wie Chipotle, Church's Texas Chicken, Jersey Mike's und White Castle zusammen. Auf der CES 2025 stellte SoundHound auch das erste Sprachhandelsökosystem im Fahrzeug vor, das freihändiges Bestellen und Bezahlen von Lebensmitteln über die Infotainmentsysteme des Autos ermöglicht.
- Powers over 10,000 restaurant locations
- 100% upselling rate vs traditional 42%
- Partnerships with major restaurant chains
- Expansion into automotive commerce
- Multiple revenue streams through omnichannel integration
- None.
Insights
SoundHound AI's next-generation restaurant platform represents a strategic expansion of its AI capabilities that could meaningfully impact its revenue growth trajectory. By enhancing its Dynamic Drive-Thru solution with omnichannel capabilities, SoundHound is targeting the $900+ billion quick-service restaurant industry where technology adoption is accelerating.
The announcement reveals several key revenue drivers worth analyzing:
- The platform's AI-driven upselling feature (100% upsell attempt rate vs. 42% traditional rate) could potentially increase average ticket sizes by 15-20% based on industry benchmarks, creating a compelling ROI proposition for restaurant partners
- SoundHound's footprint of 10,000+ restaurant locations provides an immediate cross-selling opportunity for these enhanced solutions, potentially accelerating revenue growth without proportional customer acquisition costs
- The omnichannel approach addresses multiple revenue streams within restaurants, expanding SoundHound's wallet share within existing accounts
From a competitive standpoint, SoundHound is leveraging its proprietary Polaris speech recognition model and fully autonomous voice generative AI to differentiate in a space increasingly targeted by larger tech firms. While companies like Google and Microsoft offer speech recognition capabilities, SoundHound's purpose-built restaurant solution with industry-specific training data creates meaningful barriers to entry.
The in-vehicle commerce ecosystem announced at CES 2025 represents a potentially significant growth vector that could expand SoundHound's addressable market beyond restaurants. This cross-industry application leverages the company's core voice AI technology while creating network effects between automotive and restaurant partners.
For investors, this announcement reinforces SoundHound's position as a specialized AI player with vertical-specific applications that can generate tangible ROI. However, execution risks remain around scaling these solutions and defending against larger competitors with deeper pockets. The company's $3.7 billion market capitalization suggests investors are already pricing in significant growth expectations, making delivery on these new initiatives critical for stock performance.
SoundHound's expanded restaurant AI platform represents a watershed moment for QSR automation, addressing the industry's most pressing operational challenges while opening new revenue opportunities. This isn't just incremental technology—it's a comprehensive solution that could fundamentally reshape restaurant economics.
The timing couldn't be more critical for restaurant operators facing a perfect storm of challenges:
- Labor costs have increased 15-25% over the past three years while availability has decreased
- Drive-thru accuracy rates industry-wide hover around 85%, meaning one in seven orders contains errors
- Average drive-thru wait times have increased to over 6 minutes in 2024, driving customer dissatisfaction
SoundHound's omnichannel approach is particularly compelling because it creates multiple efficiency touchpoints. The AI-driven upselling feature alone—offering upsells 100% of the time versus 42% traditionally—could potentially increase average tickets by $1.50-$2.50 per order based on industry benchmarks. For a location processing 1,000 orders daily, this translates to $45,000-$75,000 in incremental monthly revenue.
The Smart Lane Technology addressing pre-ordering could increase throughput by 15-20% during peak hours, effectively expanding capacity without capital investment in additional lanes. For high-volume locations, this could mean serving hundreds of additional customers weekly.
What sets SoundHound apart from competitors like Presto Automation and ConverseNow is its end-to-end voice AI that operates without human intervention. This fully autonomous approach allows for consistent scaling across thousands of locations—evidenced by their current 10,000+ location footprint with major brands like Chipotle and White Castle.
The in-vehicle commerce ecosystem announced at CES 2025 represents perhaps the most strategic long-term opportunity. As connected vehicles become ubiquitous, SoundHound is positioning to own the restaurant ordering experience directly within car infotainment systems. This creates an entirely new ordering channel that could capture impulse purchases and commuter traffic in ways traditional ordering cannot.
For restaurant operators, the ROI proposition is compelling: reduced labor costs, increased throughput, higher average tickets, and improved accuracy—all critical metrics in an industry where margins typically hover between 3-5%.
SoundHound's expanded restaurant AI platform represents a significant technical evolution in conversational AI, moving beyond simple voice recognition to create a comprehensive, cross-channel ordering ecosystem with potentially transformative implications for both the restaurant and automotive industries.
The technical foundation of this platform—SoundHound's Polaris™ multimodal foundation model—deserves particular attention. Unlike general-purpose large language models, Polaris has been purpose-built for conversational AI applications with specialized training on restaurant-specific interactions. This domain specialization allows for:
- Superior handling of food-specific terminology and menu variations
- Better noise isolation in challenging acoustic environments like drive-thrus
- More accurate recognition of diverse accents and speech patterns in time-constrained ordering scenarios
What truly differentiates SoundHound's approach is their claim of fully autonomous operation without human intervention. This represents a significant technical achievement in an industry where most competitors still rely on human agents for oversight or exception handling. The company's billions of annual queries across 10,000+ locations creates a powerful data flywheel effect—each interaction further refines their models, creating mounting barriers to entry for competitors.
The omnichannel integration is technically sophisticated, requiring seamless synchronization across multiple input modalities (voice, text, QR codes) while maintaining consistent menu knowledge, pricing, and availability information. This unified backend architecture enables the Smart Lane Technology, which intelligently queues and processes orders from various channels to optimize throughput.
Perhaps most strategically significant is SoundHound's expansion into in-vehicle commerce. By embedding their technology directly into automotive infotainment systems, they're creating a new category of "zero-click" commerce that could fundamentally alter consumer ordering patterns. This represents a potential moat against competitors focused solely on restaurant technology.
The multilingual capabilities further demonstrate technical sophistication, requiring not just translation but cultural adaptation of menu items, ingredients, and ordering patterns across languages—a complex natural language processing challenge.
For investors, this announcement signals SoundHound's evolution from a voice recognition company to an end-to-end AI platform company with applications spanning multiple high-value industries. The technical barriers they've overcome in fully autonomous voice AI position them uniquely at the intersection of restaurant automation and automotive commerce—two massive markets undergoing rapid digital transformation.
Company’s AI-Powered Solutions Elevate Customer Experience and Maximize Revenue with Seamless Ordering Across Drive-Thru, Including Call-to-Order, Text-to-Order, Scan-to-Order, and In-Car Voice Ordering
With a majority of quick-service restaurant (QSR) transactions occurring at the drive-thru, speed and accuracy are imperative. Slow service and order errors can reduce sales and damage customer loyalty. SoundHound’s Dynamic Drive-Thru delivers a solution with:
- Polaris™ Advanced Speech Recognition Model: SoundHound’s multimodal, multilingual foundation model, that delivers unmatched accuracy and automates drive-thrus to offload staff pressure and increase order throughput.
- Omnichannel AI-Powered Ordering: Extending AI-powered automation beyond the drive-thru to Call-to-Order, Text-to-Order, Scan-to-Order, In-Car Voice Ordering, and kiosks, delivering a unified, efficient, and seamless ordering experience across all channels.
- Fully Autonomous Voice Generative AI: SoundHound’s end-to-end voice AI sets the industry standard for accuracy, powered by proprietary technology that operates entirely without a human in the loop. Every order is processed with confidence, with backup support available when necessary for escalations.
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AI-Driven Upselling: Increases ticket sizes and maximizes revenue by offering upsells
100% of the time, far exceeding traditional ordering experiences where upselling happens just42% of the time. - Smart Lane Technology: Enables pre-ordering via call, text, or scan before customers reach the window, reducing wait times, increasing throughput, and optimizing revenue.
- Advanced Analytics & Insights: Provides real-time data and voice insights provide actionable data to optimize performance and improve customer interactions.
- Multilingual Support: Serves a diverse customer base with AI-driven language adaptability.
SoundHound transforms restaurant operations at scale, powering well over 10,000 locations with its industry-leading voice and conversational AI technology. From drive-thru to phone ordering, the company is integrated into the operations of top restaurant brands, including Chipotle, Church’s Texas Chicken, Jersey Mike’s, and White Castle. Backed by millions of hours of proprietary voice data and an annual query run rate in the billions, SoundHound delivers unmatched accuracy, automation, and scalability, making it the leading AI provider for restaurants.
“AI in restaurants is no longer optional – it’s the new standard. The future is omnichannel, and our advanced platform gives restaurants the flexibility to integrate automation across every customer touchpoint,” said James Hom, Chief Product Officer at SoundHound AI. “With over two decades of AI expertise and data, SoundHound has developed the most advanced and comprehensive solution that not only works for the drive-thru but seamlessly integrates across all ordering channels.”
SoundHound continues to pioneer innovation across industries. At CES 2025, the company unveiled the-first ever in-vehicle voice commerce ecosystem. This advanced technology now allows drivers and passengers to place a food order for takeout, make payments seamlessly, and then navigate to the nearest pick-up location, all directly from a car’s infotainment system completely hands-free.
To learn more about restaurant solutions from SoundHound AI, visit: www.soundhound.com.
About SoundHound AI
SoundHound (Nasdaq: SOUN), a global leader in conversational intelligence, offers voice and conversational AI solutions that let businesses offer incredible experiences to their customers. Built on proprietary technology, SoundHound’s voice AI delivers best-in-class speed and accuracy in numerous languages to product creators and service providers across retail, financial services, healthcare, automotive, smart devices, and restaurants via groundbreaking AI-driven products like Smart Answering, Smart Ordering, Dynamic Drive-Thru, and Amelia AI Agents. Along with SoundHound Chat AI, a powerful voice assistant with integrated Generative AI, SoundHound powers millions of products and services, and processes billions of interactions each year for world class businesses.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250225367612/en/
Media Contact
Gianna Arantes
201-815-9852
PR@SoundHound.com
Source: SoundHound AI
FAQ
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