Panera Now Has Robots Taking Customer Orders?
Panera is leveraging technology in a whole new way at its restaurants. It's using AI robots to take customer orders.
Starting this week, Panera Bread customers at two of the restaurant’s upstate New York locations will have their orders taken by robots. The move comes as the company begins testing AI technology in drive-thru lanes with an aim to improve and enhance the guest experience. The sandwich chain is the latest eatery to invest in improvements to the self-service window following a surge in drive-thru ordering during the pandemic. The long lines of cars prompted chains to focus on speed of service and order accuracy.
Now, partnering with OpenCity, select Panera bakery cafes in the greater Rochester area have implemented the tech company’s proprietary voice AI ordering technology called Tori. Installed at these select locations, the robot will take orders at the drive-thru speaker with restaurant staff on standby to troubleshoot any problems. When customers arrive at the window they are prompted to place their order as usual with assistance from Tori. After that, they pay the human associate for their favorite menu items at the drive-thru window.
The addition of this technology at the Panera drive-thru will help to cut down wait times, improve order accuracy and allow associates to focus on freshly preparing guests’ orders. Speaking about the launch, EVP and Chief Operating Officer Debbie Roberts said improving the customer experience is always a priority. “We’re using this innovative technology to help enable faster, more accurate orders for each of our drive-thru guests,” she said in a statement. “The potential of AI drive-thru technology is incredibly exciting for us.”
Roberts added that Panera Bread is eager to evaluate the performance of these tests and the possibility of expanding the AI technology in additional bakery cafes. In addition to drive-thru facilities, the Missouri-headquartered bakery has a wide variety of tech-forward ordering options. This includes contactless dine-in, curbside, as well as rapid pick-up and delivery so folks can order their favorite food items exactly how they want them – whenever they want them.
If successful, the AI technology could be expanded to more stores. Especially since Panera Bread operates in over 2,000 locations across the United States and Canada, over 40% of which are drive-thru. While the financial terms of the eatery’s agreement with OpenCity weren’t disclosed, the start-up has raised $6.82 million from private investors and is valued at $26.82 million. According to CNBC, its technology is being used by more than two dozen restaurants. This includes at least one Popeyes location in Louisiana.
Interestingly, this isn’t the first time Panera Bread tinkered with automation to improve the customer experience. Earlier this year, the company announced a test of Miso Robotics’ CookRight Coffee system, which uses artificial intelligence to monitor coffee volume and temperature. The endeavor was part of a broader shift toward automation across the restaurant industry as many eateries struggle to find workers and labor costs rise, according to CNBC.
Meanwhile, Panera has been privately owned since 2017, when JAB Holding bought the company for $7.5 billion. Since then, the popular bakery continued to invest in technology, boosting its digital sales and maintaining its reputation as a leader in the restaurant industry.
