The fast-food drive-thru has long been one of the most unforgiving environments in retail. It is loud, rushed, and relentlessly operational. For years, AI vendors promised they could master it. Few have come close. Now, one company is putting up numbers large enough to shift the industry’s expectations. Hi Auto, a voice AI system built specifically for drive-thru operations, announced that it is now completing more than 100 million orders each year, a milestone that signals a new phase for automation in quick-service restaurants.
A Purpose-Built System Reaches Global Scale
Hi Auto operates in nearly 1,000 drive-thrus across the U.S., U.K., New Zealand, and Australia, making it one of the most widely deployed AI voice systems in the QSR sector. Its performance metrics of 93% order completion and 96% accuracy have been key to its adoption, but the company emphasizes that the real value lies in consistency and operational relief. “It’s exciting to ramp up the number of restaurants using our AI Order Taker, but that metric represents true success when these transactions provide real value for our QSR customers and their guests,” says Roy Baharav, Co-Founder and CEO of Hi Auto. “What we view as the real achievement here is how Voice AI is improving efficiencies and employee satisfaction while boosting revenue and delivering outstanding guest experiences at almost a thousand drive-thru locations.”
Unlike generic voice assistants, Hi Auto’s technology is engineered for the drive-thru’s mix of background noise, fast-paced transactions, and menu complexity. Centralized script control lets brands adjust promotions, regional items, and LTOs across fleets of stores while maintaining the same tone and friendliness at every location. The company’s optimization tools also help franchisees reclaim between three and eight labor hours per store, per day, a shift that often determines whether teams feel overwhelmed or in control during peak traffic.
Operators Describe a Measurable Shift in Service
For many brands, the introduction of Hi Auto has brought an immediate operational change. At Bojangles, the chain’s custom-branded version dubbed “BoLinda” has become a reliable part of the team. “You can set [Bojangles’ custom-branded Voice AI] BoLinda to suggest to sell by day part, by promotion, etc.,” says CEO Jose Armario. “She’s very consistent and very reliable.”
Franchisee Neil Pathak also sees the impact on staff well-being. “From day one, the biggest thing I noticed with having Bolinda was that the crew members felt a sense of relief. The person that used to do cash, take orders, make drinks… they’re just so relaxed now compared to before.”
At Checkers & Rally’s, operators say the same. “Before Hi Auto, we used to have stress trying to run to the front and answer the speaker for the guests and ring up orders and stuff,” explains general manager Linda Ronda. “But now we can do other things and be able to still pay 100% attention to the guests at the window.” Jason Amell, an executive overseeing Michigan’s largest Checkers & Rally’s franchisee group, highlights the consistency advantage: “You always get a nice friendly voice with Hi Auto, versus if you have a [human] order taker, they could be grumpy or in a bad mood, and then that gets conveyed to your guests. Hi Auto eliminates that.”
Upselling, Once a Human Skill, Becomes Machine-Perfect
The most striking feedback comes from operators who track upselling. “You might get an upsell 20% of the time with humans in the drive-thru,” says Ryan Weaver, CEO of Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken. “With Hi Auto, our voice AI order-taking partner, we’re getting it 100% of the time.”
Rally’s franchise owner Mike Rosania echoes this sentiment: “One of my favorite things about Hi Auto is it actually upsells better than my employees can. And I really thought my employees were top-notch upsellers. Hi Auto just knocks it out the park every day, every shift, day in and day out.” General manager Alisha Burton puts it simply: “With Hi Auto, they’re 100% consistent. You will never miss a beat on the upselling, being the friendliest, and giving the customer the best service over the speaker.”
A Milestone That Redefines What’s Possible
For a long time, AI in the drive-thru was treated as an interesting pilot, not a dependable system. Hi Auto’s 100 million-order milestone suggests that the era is ending. Built in 2019 with a single focus on drive-thru reliability, the company has turned voice AI into a daily operational tool that reduces stress, increases accuracy, and keeps lines moving.
Its growth now offers something the QSR industry hasn’t had before: clear evidence that end-to-end automated order taking can work at scale, not in a lab but in the noisy reality of almost a thousand restaurants, one customer at a time.
