By Lea Mira, RTN staff writer - 3.21.2025
Yum! Brands, the global powerhouse behind Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC, and Habit Burger Grill, is taking a major leap into the future of restaurant operations through a new, high-profile partnership with NVIDIA. The alliance, announced during NVIDIA’s recent GTC developer conference in San Jose, is designed to accelerate the deployment of artificial intelligence across Yum!’s global footprint—impacting everything from drive-thru ordering to back-of-house operations and labor management.
This collaboration comes at a pivotal time for the quick-service restaurant sector, where digital transformation is no longer optional but essential. Faced with rising labor costs, changing consumer expectations, and increasing demand for speed, convenience, and personalization, operators are turning to technology not just to streamline workflows, but to reshape the customer experience from the ground up.
Yum! Brands’ Chief Digital and Technology Officer Joe Park told attendees at GTC that digital sales now account for more than 50% of the company’s total revenue, up from 19% in 2019. The sharp rise is driven by a strategic focus on integrating digital tools—including AI-powered solutions—across Yum!’s vast portfolio of more than 61,000 restaurants worldwide.
A primary focus of this initiative is the deployment of voice AI agents at drive-thrus and call centers. Developed in partnership with NVIDIA, these systems leverage advanced natural language processing and conversational AI models to understand, respond to, and even upsell to customers—all in real-time. These voice agents don’t just replace human labor; they’re designed to enhance the ordering experience by being consistent, friendly, and efficient—particularly during high-volume periods like lunch rushes or major sporting events.
According to a 2024 drive-thru study by Intouch Insight, the average customer spends about 5 minutes and 29 seconds in a fast food drive-thru. Early data shows that AI-powered drive-thrus can reduce that time by up to 29 seconds—a potential game-changer for both customer satisfaction and throughput efficiency. With higher accuracy and the ability to upsell at scale, voice AI can also boost check averages while reducing strain on front-line employees.
Park emphasized that the use of AI is not intended to replace team members, but to support them. AI can take care of repetitive and transactional tasks, he noted, so that team members can focus on delivering great hospitality and managing operations.
Yum! Brands is not simply layering AI onto existing systems. The company is building on its proprietary platform, Byte by Yum!, which integrates POS, inventory management, labor scheduling, delivery logistics, and customer data into a single technology ecosystem. By integrating NVIDIA’s AI and edge computing technologies, Yum! can now scale these capabilities across multiple brands and markets with improved efficiency and lower cost of deployment.
NVIDIA’s contribution includes the use of its NVIDIA AI Enterprise platform and NIM microservices—pre-trained AI models that can be easily customized and deployed on edge devices within restaurant environments. This technology allows for real-time, on-site processing of AI tasks, reducing latency and dependency on cloud infrastructure.
Additionally, NVIDIA’s computer vision solutions are being used to analyze restaurant camera feeds. For example, AI can assess whether the food being handed out at the window matches the customer’s order, helping to improve order accuracy and reduce waste. Vision-based AI is also being trained to identify bottlenecks in kitchen or drive-thru operations and recommend adjustments in real time.
Yum! has begun piloting these AI tools in select Taco Bell and Pizza Hut locations across the U.S., with plans to expand to 500 locations—including KFC and Habit Burger Grill—by the end of Q2 2025. While the company hasn’t disclosed the specific locations of these pilots or financial terms of the partnership, the scale and scope of the project indicate a significant investment in long-term AI infrastructure.
Yum! is also exploring the use of AI-generated action plans for restaurant managers. These tools leverage historical performance data and current conditions to offer prescriptive guidance—essentially telling managers not just what is happening in their stores, but what they should do about it.
Yum!’s move is part of a broader industry shift. The QSR industry has become a proving ground for AI deployment, with competitors like McDonald’s, Wendy’s, White Castle, and Panda Express all testing voice AI and automation in various forms. However, the path hasn’t been smooth for everyone. McDonald’s, for example, ended a voice AI pilot with IBM in 2023 after customer complaints and technical difficulties, signaling that successful implementation requires not just innovation, but rigorous testing and human oversight.
This is where Yum! appears to be differentiating itself—by focusing on strategic integration, transparency, and iterative development. The company has made it clear that AI will not be a “set it and forget it” solution, but a tool that evolves through continuous learning and refinement.
For restaurant executives, franchise operators, and technology leaders evaluating AI initiatives, the Yum!-NVIDIA partnership offers a compelling blueprint for success. AI is no longer a futuristic buzzword—it’s a practical tool for improving operational performance, guest experience, and financial outcomes. When integrated thoughtfully, AI can act as a force multiplier across an organization, empowering staff and enhancing every aspect of the customer journey.
Yum! Brands has the scale, infrastructure, and leadership commitment to drive meaningful results with AI. And with more than 61,000 locations worldwide, what happens at Yum! often sets the tone for the broader industry. The company’s partnership with NVIDIA is not just about faster drive-thrus—it’s about creating the intelligent, responsive, and scalable restaurant model of the future.
As AI matures, it will be the operators who embrace strategic innovation—backed by data and tested through real-world use—who gain the clearest competitive advantage.
