Culinary & FoodserviceWednesday, November 11, 2026
Voice-AI drive-thru ordering reaches tipping point across major QSR chains
Presto, the enterprise voice-AI partner for Carl's Jr. and Hardee's, raised $10 million in January 2026 to scale deployments as Yum Brands, Burger King, Starbucks, and Papa Johns roll out AI ordering assistants, with analysts projecting that roughly half of U.S. drive-thru orders could be AI-handled by late 2026.
The numbers
- 50% Roughly half of U.S. drive-thru orders could be AI-handled by late 2026
- $10 million Presto raised $10 million in January 2026 to scale voice AI deployments
- 10,000 SoundHound AI powers more than 10,000 restaurant locations
- 90% SoundHound system takes more than 90% of orders without human intervention
- 80% to 85% Trained drive-thru employees typically achieve 80% to 85% order accuracy