Chipotle quietly rolls out artificial intelligence to 1,800 units
By Jack Herbert • August 2, 2019
Chipotle quietly began testing AI-powered voice assistants for phone orders in 10 units in early 2018. That test quickly grew to 1,800 locations this year. Nicole West, vice president of digital strategy and product at Chipotle, said that the 2,500-unit chain plans to expand the AI voice system to its remaining U.S. stores by the end of the year. Chipotle has yet to give a name to this new AI female voice, but they are confident that “she” will learn extremely fast; her algorithm remembers each order and with each order she becomes smarter. This is not a labor reduction move. It’s about “convenience for our customers” West said. The system allows customers to order, pay and skip the line when grabbing their food from a pick-up shelf. Pay ahead is not available for manual phone orders. Automating phone orders also reduces the amount of time managers and employees spend on the phone.