Panera Tests Drive-Thru AI Voice Technology From OpenCity’s Conversational Voice AI “Tori”
ST. LOUIS, August 29, 2022 – Beginning today, Panera Bread begins testing AI technology in drive-thru lanes with an aim to improve and enhance the guest experience. With support from OpenCity, select Panera bakery-cafes in the greater Rochester, NY area have implemented OpenCity’s proprietary voice AI ordering technology, called “Tori”, for drive-thru orders, with the goal of maximizing efficiency and increasing speed of orders. Guests at Panera Bread cafes in Greece, NY (800 Greece Ridge Center Dr) and Webster, NY (935 Holt Rd) are the first Panera locations to experience this drive-thru innovation.
Tori is installed at these select locations and will take orders as normal at the drive-thru speaker, with Panera associates on standby to assist if needed to troubleshoot any issues. Drive-thru guests can pull up to their Panera drive-thru, place their order as usual with assistance from Tori and pay the Panera associate for their favorite menu items at the drive-thru window. The addition of this technology at the drive-thru will help to cut down wait times, improve order accuracy and allow associates to focus on freshly preparing guests’ orders.
“At Panera, improving our guest experience is always our priority and we are using this innovative technology to help enable a faster, more accurate order for each of our drive-thru guests,” said Debbie Roberts, EVP and Chief Operating Officer, Panera Bread. “The potential of AI drive-thru technology is incredibly exciting for us – we are eager to evaluate the performance of these tests and the possibility of expanding this technology in additional bakery-cafes.”
In addition to drive-thru, Panera Bread has a wide variety of tech-forward ordering options including Contactless Dine-In, Curbside, Rapid Pick-Up® and Delivery so guests can order their Panera favorites when they want and how they want them.
OpenCity’s proprietary voice AI assistant “Tori,” is making the drive-thru experience more enjoyable by automatically and intelligently taking orders with 99.9% accuracy, enabling restaurants to focus more on their operations, while creating new revenue streams for their business.
How Tori Works:
- Guests have exactly the same drive-thru ordering experience
- Tori leverages existing restaurant infrastructure to quickly take and submit orders
- Tori enhances the guest experience and improves the quality of restaurant operations
Tori has realized the following results:
- 20% faster speed of service
- 150% more drinks sold
- 20% increase in customer satisfaction
- 99.9% Tori order accuracy
- Increased employee productivity