By year’s end, hundreds of Taco Bell drive-thrus could be taking orders without a human on the other end of the speaker. Yum Brands’ ambitious deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) at its flagship Mexican-style fast food chain signals a potential sea change in how America...
Amazon reportedly plans to launch a paid tier of Alexa as soon as this month. The paid tier will offer a version of the voice assistant that has been dubbed “Remarkable Alexa,” is built on a new tech stack and offers greater capabilities, The Wall...
After two years of testing, McDonald’s has ended its partnership with IBM to develop an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered drive-thru system. The collaboration, which aimed to change the fast-food ordering process by replacing human workers with voice-activated chatbots, had been a closely watched experiment in the...
SoundHound AI has reached an agreement to prepay its $100 million debt in full. The voice artificial intelligence (AI) firm announced that agreement with its lenders Monday (June 10), saying it substantially lowers its early payment costs and lets SoundHound save more than $55 million of interest and...
May 22, 2024
Someday — and it may be soon — conversations with Amazon’s automated voice assistant Alexa may cost money. Amazon has been clear about its intentions to charge a subscription for a tiered Alexa service since last September. But improvements to voice technology driven by artificial intelligence (AI) may force the issue. As an Amazon spokesperson confirmed to PYMNTS Wednesday (May 22), that […]
October 24, 2023
The Voice Economy is gaining momentum as consumers turn to voice technology for a variety of tasks. The most common tasks performed with this technology include watching TV or playing...
October 06, 2023
Consumers today are increasingly seeking smarter, simpler, and more connected routines, and voice technology has the potential to fulfill these needs. However, the adoption of voice technology remains uneven as...
August 05, 2022
As restaurants’ hiring challenges persist, many brands are turning towards automated solutions to lower their labor costs, and while some consumers may think these changes detract from the dining experience,...
July 23, 2024
Amazon reportedly plans to launch a paid tier of Alexa as soon as this month. The paid tier will offer a version of the voice assistant that has been dubbed “Remarkable Alexa,” is built on a new tech stack and offers greater capabilities, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Tuesday (July 23), citing unnamed sources. […]
June 10, 2024
SoundHound AI has reached an agreement to prepay its $100 million debt in full. The voice artificial intelligence (AI) firm announced that agreement with its lenders Monday (June 10), saying it substantially lowers...
May 05, 2024
What if Apple’s voice assistant Siri “was really, really, really good?” That question is at the heart of much of the tech giant’s artificial intelligence (AI) research, according to a report...
October 06, 2023
Walmart is embracing emerging technologies to enhance the shopping experience for its customers. With the aim of making shopping more convenient, Walmart is leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR),...
