AI-powered drive-thru is actually run almost entirely by humans

Disclosures in recent filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission and changes to marketing suggest that the technology is less autonomous than it first appeared. The company, which went public last year, now says ‘off-site agents’ working in locales such as the Philippines help during more than 70% of customer interactions to make sure its AI system doesn’t mess up. — Photo by RDNE Stock project: https://www.pexels.com/photo/driver-inside-a-car-on-a-drive-thru-6529683/

Checkers and Carl’s Jr are among US fast-food chains hailing AI-powered drive-thrus as labour-zapping wizards that speed up service. But a popular provider of these systems recently revealed a crucial part of how it gets so many orders right: humans.

Presto Automation Inc pitched a restaurant industry desperate to combat rising wages on a talking chatbot that could take orders with almost no human intervention. The firm touted OpenAI’s Sam Altman as an early investor. And it has used the firm’s technology to improve its system as it aims to triple deployments to 1,200 locations next year.