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Yum! Brands, the operator of KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and The Habit Burger Grill restaurants, is embracing technology with plans to “AI-powered” fast food, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
The company has increased its investments in technology and automation, with about 45%, or $30 billion, of its sales coming from digital – almost double what they were in 2019 – the company said. newspaper Joe Park, digital and technology director of Yum. This is about double the 2019 level.
“Our vision for (quick-service restaurants) is that an AI-driven mentality works every step of the way,” Park told the Wall Street Journal. “If you think about the large movements within a restaurant that can be powered by AI, we think they are infinite.”
With California’s new minimum wage law taking effect Monday, meaning most fast food workers will be paid $20 an hour, most restaurateurs are turning to AI to reduce costs. costs and increase sales, the Journal reported.
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| Teleprinter | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YUM | YUM! MARQUES INC. | 139.06 | -1.58 | -1.12% |
For fast food giants like Yum, the use of AI aims to go beyond improving quality of life. client experience.
Yum offers a mobile app for restaurant managers called SuperApp, which the Wall Street Journal reports tests generative AI, allowing team members to ask operational questions such as how to set the oven temperature. Park told the Journal that the app — which is currently used by more than 8,700 Pizza Hut and KFC locations — can also be used to purchase ingredients and set employee schedules, and that a new augmented reality feature could help teach workers how to create a new menu. items.
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An employee prepares the popular Mountain Dew Baja Blast frozen drink at the Taco Bell Cantina in Brookline, Massachusetts on December 4, 2020. (John Tumacki/The Boston Globe via /Getty Images)
Park told the newspaper that Yum’s AI investments are funded in part by fees from franchise owners, although the company did not specify the amount of those fees.
Yum! Brands did not immediately return a request for additional comment to FOX Business.
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Breadsticks and pepperoni pizza from a Pizza Hut restaurant, a unit of Yum! Brands Inc. (Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via /Getty Images)
The KFC logo is displayed outside a KFC restaurant, a unit of Yum! Brands Inc., in Houston, Texas, on July 13, 2010. (Aaron M. Sprecher/Bloomberg via /Getty Images)
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Many fast food chains have increased their investments in technology like digital ordering and more. delivery service since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although some worry that AI could take over the need for human workers, a Yum spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal that “its employees will still play a critical role.”
