Video: Aussie QSR Using Conversational Voice AI To Process Drive-Thru Orders
March 19, 2025 by Dave Haynes
There have been numerous stories in the last couple of years of some of the largest quick service restaurant chains out there working with tech giants on AI-driven voice ordering in the drive-thru lanes, but I’ve not seen much about smaller regional QSRs having the resources or business ties to also test and possibly adopt the process. That’s why this video about an organic-first chain in Australia is interesting.
A company called Oliver’s – which makes natural meals and snacks and pours organic coffee – is using conversational voice AI ordering in its drive-thrus, using UK-based Sodaclick’s tech stack.
What’s interesting here is the level of sophistication that ordering can handle. So it’s not a case of precisely, very deliberately saying LARGE … CAFE … LATTE. As the video shows, it is more like a conversation, and questions can come out of left field – like one customer asking what the most popular item is, another being upsold after ordering and a third asking, as an after-thought, if his order is gluten-free. I also like how the AI component is tightly integrated with the display, so that customers also get visual conformation of order and total cost.
Sodaclick’s assertions are that with AI-powered ordering:
- Customers place their orders naturally, in their own words;
- The system handles complex, multi-item orders with ease;
- Staff can focus on speed and quality, not just taking orders.
It was reasonable to think in the early days of Voice AI that it was going to be clunky and error-prone, struggling with thick accents and ambient noise, but the capabilities have clearly grown a lot more slick, sophisticated and accurate. The other interesting aspect of this is that here’s a small chain Down Under doing what may be widely perceived as only something a global QSR like a McDonald’s could make happen and run.
If the Sodaclick people are reading this (nice bunch), answer your damn emails and Linkedin messages!!! Been trying to set up a chat for months and getting crickets.
And Yum just announced Nvida deal. Biggest problem is retail opted for cheapest speakers and cheapest microphones. Garbage in = garbage out. Instead of $12 spend on tech, they could spend $50 and increase effectiveness by 10X. But, Wall Street does love a good AI story don’t they?
And at some point “conversational” can easily slow down the TTT (time to transaction) and let customers ignore programmed upsell offers. Sprouts did a super nice voice AI for “discussing” nutrition options and alternatives in the store. AI as a concierge. Good post Dave!