Taco Bell: Give Consumers Touchpoint Choice

Coinciding with Nvidia's GTC Keynote on March 18, 2025, Yum Brands announced that they are using Nvidia technology to "aim for a world where humans never take food orders." (WSJ) The idea is interesting - you can imagine consumers choosing among dozens of languages, improved order accuracy, and personalization (their words) that go beyond marketing to improve the consumer experience - not just generate more revenue. Easy to imagine the challenges of balancing high employee turnover with consistency of experience. And, using voice to order doesn't necessarily negate the use of images to sell food. Consumers want to use a breadth of touchpoints based on their comfort with interfaces (e.g., touch, chat, voice), accessibility, environment (e.g., noise), access (i.e., ownership of a smartphone), and more. I'm an early adopter, and I have stopped doing business with more than one company because they have forced me to use technology that degrades my overall experience. Every company will need to balance the needs of an individual, all customers, employees, and financial returns.