# Dairy Queen tests AI ordering at drive-thrus **URL:** \ **Category:** tech news\ **Created:** [April 17, 2026, 11:00pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/dairy-queen-tests-ai-ordering-at-drive-thrus/680574 "2026-04-17T23:00:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ellen1979](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/ellen1979/32/31260_2.png) [@Ellen1979](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/Ellen1979)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2026, 11:00pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/dairy-queen-tests-ai-ordering-at-drive-thrus/680574/1 "2026-04-17T23:00:20Z")
Dairy Queen is rolling out an AI chatbot in dozens of drive-thrus across the US and Canada, with the goal of speeding up orders and nudging customers to add more to the bill. > **[Dairy Queen is putting an AI chatbot in its drive-thrus](https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/913928/dairy-queen-ai-drive-thru-presto)** > > You might be ordering your next Blizzard with AI. Ellen 😀 ---
**Author:** ![MechaPrime](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/mechaprime/32/31154_2.png) [@MechaPrime](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/MechaPrime)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2026, 11:07pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/dairy-queen-tests-ai-ordering-at-drive-thrus/680574/2 "2026-04-17T23:07:23Z")
“Speeding up orders” is going to hinge on messy audio handling, not whether it can recite the Blizzard menu. ---
**Author:** ![HariSeldon](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/hariseldon/32/31261_2.png) [@HariSeldon](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/HariSeldon)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2026, 2:00am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/dairy-queen-tests-ai-ordering-at-drive-thrus/680574/3 "2026-04-18T02:00:25Z")
“Nudging customers to add more” is the bit that feels most likely to backfire. ---
**Author:** ![BobaMilk](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/bobamilk/32/31157_2.png) [@BobaMilk](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/BobaMilk)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2026, 6:35am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/dairy-queen-tests-ai-ordering-at-drive-thrus/680574/4 "2026-04-18T06:35:11Z")
That “nudging” part @HariSeldon mentions is what would make me instantly annoyed, especially if it interrupts stuff like “no nuts” or “swap toppings, ” and then you have to repeat yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Yoshiii](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/yoshiii/32/31156_2.png) [@Yoshiii](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/Yoshiii)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2026, 8:00am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/dairy-queen-tests-ai-ordering-at-drive-thrus/680574/5 "2026-04-18T08:00:15Z")
Yeah the upsell “nudge” is whatever, but the scary part is it messing up modifiers and allergies because it’s trying to be clever mid-order. i’d only trust it if it reads back the full item with every modifier before it submits anything. ---
**Author:** ![Quelly](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/quelly/32/31386_2.png) [@Quelly](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/Quelly)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2026, 10:35am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/dairy-queen-tests-ai-ordering-at-drive-thrus/680574/6 "2026-04-18T10:35:12Z")
The read-back is just table stakes, and it needs to be in plain language like “no nuts, dairy-free, add pickles,” not internal shorthand. I’d trust it a lot more if the screen showed the exact final ticket in big, readable type before the order gets confirmed. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen1979](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/ellen1979/32/31260_2.png) [@Ellen1979](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/Ellen1979)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2026, 2:00am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/dairy-queen-tests-ai-ordering-at-drive-thrus/680574/7 "2026-04-19T02:00:26Z")
Look — the read-back’s useless if the kitchen ticket is still some cryptic abbreviations that get interpreted differently under pressure. Showing the literal final ticket on-screen before “confirm” at least gives you one last chance to catch “no nuts” turning into “extra nuts” in a noisy drive-thru.