Taco Bell has expanded its partnership with Omilia to deploy Voice AI across more than 890 US drive-thrus, helping improve ordering efficiency and enhance customer and team member experiences.
Taco Bell has expanded its partnership with Omilia, a provider of AI-powered conversational intelligence and customer experience technology, to continue deploying Voice AI across its US drive-thru network. The agreement builds on a partnership that began in 2023 and has since expanded to more than 890 restaurants across 38 states, advancing Taco Bell’s Voice AI capabilities while improving customer and team member experiences.
Under the partnership, Omilia’s Voice AI platform will continue to be deployed across Taco Bell’s US restaurants. The solution automates order-taking at the drive-thru by adapting to each location’s menu, real-time stock levels and limited-time offers, helping deliver a more consistent and efficient ordering experience for guests.
Data from the deployment shows that Voice AI transaction times are on par with, and in some cases faster than, traditional order-taking methods. Taco Bell restaurants using the technology have also reported higher employee retention than locations without Voice AI, enabling team members to spend more time engaging with guests and creating experiences that encourage repeat visits.
“Omilia’s Voice AI gives us the ability to ease team members’ workloads and provides them the flexibility to engage with customers in a more meaningful way. Omilia’s platform has proven itself at scale in select US restaurants, and continuing this strategic partnership supports our long-term digital and tech strategy,” said Dane Mathews, Global Chief Digital & Technology Officer, Taco Bell.
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The Drive-Thru Challenge
The drive-thru is one of the highest-volume and most complex environments for Voice AI. Road noise, regional accents, customised orders and the fast pace of quick-service restaurant operations create technical challenges for speech recognition systems. Omilia said its proprietary platform was developed specifically for these conditions, incorporating noise filtering, sub-second latency and real-time menu adaptation.
“The drive-thru environment is one of the most demanding – real-time, noisy, fast-paced, with menus that change by store and by day. It is exactly where our purpose-built Voice AI separates from general-purpose tools that have failed. This partnership reflects Omilia and Taco Bell’s shared commitment to delivering measurable value for customers, restaurant teams and franchisees,” said Dimitris Vassos, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Omilia.
How It Works
Omilia’s Voice AI solution uses proprietary small language models to provide ultra-low-latency, context-aware transcription for drive-thru environments. The platform interprets customer requests, including slang, humour, order modifications and customisations, while adapting in real time to menu changes, limited-time offers and stock availability. Generative AI capabilities further improve conversational flow and contextual understanding.
Taco Bell Deployment at a Glance
- 890+ Taco Bell restaurants using Voice AI across 38 US states.
- Higher guest satisfaction, with customer complaints at parity or better than restaurants without AI.
- Transaction speeds on par with or faster than traditional order-taking methods.
- Higher team member retention enables team members to spend more time creating meaningful guest experiences and building customer loyalty.
The deployment reflects growing investment across the quick-service restaurant industry in AI-powered ordering technologies that improve operational efficiency while delivering faster, more consistent and more personalised customer experiences.
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