San Carlos, Calif. — Presto Automation Inc., the largest drive-thru automation technology provider in the hospitality industry, has formed a collaboration with OpenAI, an AI research and deployment company, to drive greater innovation around its drive-thru AI voice assistant. OpenAI’s ChatGPT API will be used to expand the feature set of the Presto’s drive-thru AI voice assistant (Presto Voice™), resulting in interactions that are more natural and human-like.
Presto Voice uses advanced AI techniques including large language models (LLM) and generative AI to understand natural human language and offer logical responses to customer queries. The AI engine in Presto Voice seamlessly integrates with the restaurant’s menu and provides support for a variety of options including item combos, coupons, price variations and seasonal items. As more customers use the system, the AI engine becomes smarter and more context-aware — incorporating new accents, alternative terms and unique customer queries. According to data from hundreds of stores where Presto Voice is currently deployed, over 95% of restaurant drive-thru orders are typically taken without any staff intervention.
“We are thrilled about our collaboration with OpenAI since it will enable us to accelerate product innovation and further our mission of overlaying next-generation digital solutions onto the physical world,” says Rajat Suri, founder and CEO of Presto. “Both ChatGPT and Presto Voice represent cutting edge AI applications that can supercharge productivity and revolutionize the way humans work and think.”
Presto has identified three specific areas where it is planning to use the ChatGPT API to augment the Presto Voice AI engine:
- Enhanced Menu Options: ChatGPT will be used to create restaurant-specific and region-specific menu knowledge bases. These can then be used by Presto Voice for better restaurant data management and more powerful menu management.
- Platform Robustness: ChatGPT will be used to create tens of thousands of test guest orders representing different tones, personas and order types. This data can then be used to test Presto Voice and make it more robust by improving the stability of the AI engine.
- More Natural Responses: ChatGPT will be used to make the responses to customer queries and interactions sound more natural, improving the user experience. For example, rather than saying, “I have 1 burrito no guacamole, 1 burrito no tomatoes” Presto Voice could say “that’s 2 burritos, one with no guac and one with no tomatoes.”
Presto Voice is the leading AI voice automation solution for restaurant drive-thrus. It offers an average 6% increase in sales due to consistent upselling and up to 8 hours of labor saved per day per store. The company also offers another AI solution, Presto Vision™, which provides 16 unique pieces of real-time data for drive-thru operations optimization.
Founded at M.I.T. in 2008, Presto is headquartered in Silicon Valley, Calif., with customers including many of the top 20 restaurant chains in the U.S. For more information, visit www.presto.com.
SOURCE: Presto Automation Inc.