As public opposition to the AI buildout grows in the United States, Yum! Brands is navigating a clear disconnect between external skepticism and the internal benefits the technology provides to its workforce.
Easing the Drive-Thru Tension
Speaking at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit in Santa Barbara, Yum! Brands Chief Legal Officer Erika Burkhardt addressed the tension between the "data center noise" and social media criticism of AI versus its practical impact in restaurants. She noted that automating the drive-thru ordering process has actually improved employee retention by making daily tasks more manageable.
“It’s taking away the tension points of the ordering process,” Burkhardt told Fortune. “They’re able to focus on the job with the product and the hospitality with the customer.” This shift follows Taco Bell's July expansion of Omilia Voice AI to nearly 900 locations. While the journey has included hurdles—such as a customer attempting to order 18,000 water cups to test the system—the company views these incidents as part of a necessary learning process.
Embedded Efficiency
The move toward seamless AI integration is mirrored across other industries. Elizabeth Jarvis-Shean, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at DoorDash, emphasized that AI should be so deeply embedded in the workflow that it becomes a routine tool rather than a topic of debate. DoorDash’s “Dash Buddy” app currently resolves approximately 95% of driver inquiries in real time.
Similarly, Arm’s Chief Marketing Officer Ami Badani highlighted how AI is proving to be additive to human productivity, enabling the semiconductor firm to release communications and respond to industry shifts at a pace previously unattainable.
