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Burger King is learning that not every customer enjoys chatting with AI about their Whopper. The chain has tested AI voice ordering in drive-thrus for several years with partners including Google. Now it\u2019s rethinking the approach, according to Restaurant Business<\/a>.<\/p>\n Chakri Somisetti, Burger King\u2019s VP of brand technologies, told the FSTEC conference last week that forcing AI on customers backfired. \u201cThere are drive offs because guests don\u2019t want to talk to a bot,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Technomic research backs up the hesitation. Only 23% of consumers find AI drive-thru ordering appetizing, while 46% find it a turnoff. The test continues in 50 to 70 BK locations. But Burger King is building a way for customers to choose a human instead.<\/p>\n Rivals are also leaning into hospitality to revive traffic. McDonald\u2019s just announced an $8.5 billion investment that includes service training. KFC is testing table service at a new prototype restaurant.<\/p>\n This doesn\u2019t mean Burger King has soured on tech. It spent $400 million unifying its systems as part of its \u201cReclaim the Flame\u201d turnaround and uses an AI headset assistant named Patty to coach staff.<\/p>\n