The phone still rings at the worst possible moment, and AI order-taking is now showing up on phone lines and at drive-thrus. You don't need to be first, but you should know what to test.
Where the industry is today
The National Restaurant Association's State of the Restaurant Industry 2026 report found that 26% of surveyed operators use AI-related tools, but only 6% use AI for customer orders. Marketing (17%) and administrative tasks (10%) are more common uses. AI in the back office is not the same as AI taking orders.
In a separate study with a different sample, Hospitality Technology reported that its 2026 Restaurant Technology Study found 11% of operators had rolled out voice ordering in 2025, rising to 20% in 2026. The two studies measure different things and are not directly comparable.
What guests say
Format matters. The NRA report found 62% of consumers would order by speaking with a live person on a video screen, compared with 39% for an AI-generated persona. That result does not directly measure willingness to use AI phone ordering. Nation's Restaurant News cited Technomic data showing 46% of consumers find ordering in-store with an employee appealing, while 23% find ordering from an AI drive-thru bot appealing and 46% find it unappealing.
What early deployments show
- A path to a person matters. NRN quoted a Burger King executive saying its pilots saw "drive offs because guests don't want to talk to a bot."
- POS integration is central. NRN reported that Bojangles' voice system connects in real time to the point of sale. PMQ reported that Donatos' system is integrated directly into its POS and was rolled out in seven waves.
- Operators tested hard. A pizza chain president told Hospitality Technology his team called the system repeatedly with unusual topping combinations to try to break it.
These are individual operators' accounts, not proof that a system will work in your restaurant.
Opinion — Vlogic Advisors
We recommend a limited pilot with a clear path to staff. Decide based on completed, accurate orders and guest experience at your restaurant.
Before choosing a provider, test:
- Menu accuracy: prices, sold-out items, modifiers, substitutions and unusual combinations.
- POS delivery: whether orders arrive correctly, whether staff must re-enter them, and how failed or duplicate orders are handled.
- Human handoff: how quickly callers reach staff and whether staff see the order so far.
- Allergy requests: route these to trained staff under your procedures; do not rely on an AI assurance.
- Outages: what callers hear if the AI, POS or internet connection fails.
- Data and payments: what is recorded, who can access it and how long it is kept.
- Costs: usage fees, integrations, support, corrections and refunds.
Set the pilot's measures before launch: accuracy, completed orders, handoffs, complaints, staff time and total cost.
On jobs, the NRA report found only 6% of operators said technology investments led to permanent job elimination.
Thinking about phone or AI ordering? Talk to Vlogic Advisors about a review of your stack.
Sources
- National Restaurant Association, "State of the Restaurant Industry 2026" (PDF)
- Hospitality Technology, "$30,000 In Sales Per Week: How Voice Ordering Technology Is Changing This Pizza Chain's Operations" (April 20, 2026)
- Nation's Restaurant News, "Bojangles is expanding drive-thru AI system to all restaurants" (Oct. 22, 2026)
- Nation's Restaurant News, "Burger King rethinks its drive-thru AI strategy"
- PMQ Pizza, "Donatos' Voice-Ordering AI Fielded 301,388 Calls in 5 Months"
Talk it through with an advisor
We’ll help you map options for your business.