Taco Bell Reconsidering A.I. In Drive-Thrus After Backlash And Viral Pranks Involving Thousands Of Cups Of Water

Many companies have scrambled to embrace artificial intelligence in an attempt to streamline operations and, more importantly, save some money in the process. That includes Taco Bell, which is now having some second thoughts after the technology frustrated some customers and inspired others to channel their inner prankster.

It’s been close to five years since the world was told to prepare for the rise of the “metaverse” that the tech world positioned as The Next Big Thing. However, that did not turn out to be the case, and I have a very strong feeling that’s the first time most people reading this have remembered the word existed in quite a while.

The evangelists who have given artificial intelligence the same treatment, on the other hand, have been a bit more successful in their quest to get members of the general public to buy into the platforms that have contributed to a rise that’s been impossible to ignore.

The jury is still out on whether or not the companies that have poured billions upon billions of dollars into developing (and promoting) A.I. will be able to deliver on some of the lofty promises they’ve made while painting a vision of a future where it plays an instrumental role in day-to-day life.

However, it’s been possible to get a glimpse at what’s supposedly on the horizon thanks to the many businesses that have chugged the A.I. Kool-Aid, including at least one fast food chain that’s reconsidering its approach.

Taco Bell is reevaluating its use of A.I. in drive-thrus after a rocky rollout that’s inspired some trolling

Fast food restaurants are theoretically a solid proving ground for testing the capabilities of artificial intelligence when you consider they’re engineered to have a strictly defined workflow that largely relies on minimum wage employees completing basic tasks where the margin for error has been minimized as much as possible.

That’s not meant as a slight to anyone who works at a fast food restaurant, and I’m not trying to suggest those jobs could easily be replaced by A.I—a reality that’s been highlighted by some of the issues Taco Bell has run into since rolling out the technology in its drive-thru last year.

According to The Wall Street Journal, there are currently more than 500 locations where customers can “Live Más” by placing their order with a virtual assistant. However, those interactions can leave a lot to be desired due to situations where they’re unable to process a seemingly straightforward request.

Some people have also pounced on the opportunity to do some trolling in an attempt to see what instructions the A.I. attendant is willing to accept—like one person who (unsuccessfully) attempted to get it to ring up an order for 18,000 cups of water before an actual employee took the reins.

Taco Bell CTO Dane Mathews recently told the outlet the company is aware of some of those shortcomings, saying, “We’re learning a lot, I’m going to be honest with you. I think, like everybody, sometimes it lets me down, but sometimes it really surprises me.”

Mathews acknowledged that Taco Bell is now reevaluating its use of A.I. in the wake of the push that has seen it handle more than 2 million orders since it was first rolled out in 2024. He cautioned it is still “really, really early” and added the brand is continuously working with real, actual employees in an attempt to figure out the kinds of situations where virtual ones can actually come in handy instead of creating unnecessary headaches for workers and customers.

At this point, it’s pretty clear A.I. is here to stay for the foreseeable future at Taco Bell and beyond, but there’s certainly plenty of room for improvement.