The headwinds of tight labor supply and climbing wages led to fast food chains turning to innovative solutions to increase their profits. The future of fast food chains is changing, with restaurants testing automated technology such as robots that flip burgers and artificial intelligence software that can take drive-thru orders to make the process more efficient and profitable.
According to a forecast by restaurant consultancy Aaron Allen & Associates, up to 82% of restaurant positions could, to some extent, be replaced by robots. It is estimated that automation could save U.S. fast-food restaurants more than $12 billion in annual wages.
