Drive-Thrus Might Start Tracking You In This Sketchy Way

If you’ve ever dreamed of being so well-known at a restaurant that everyone can greet you Cheers-style when you arrive, this new technology could be your dream come true. Alternatively, if you’re still suspicious that Alexa is secretly recording everything you say to give you creepily accurate Amazon recommendations, this news will make you shudder.

Some fast food outlets are considering using technology that recognizes your license plate, supposedly as a way to improve service in their drive-thrus. Already in use at some Starbucks stores in Korea — South Korea, mind you — the idea is that this technology could help streamline the ordering and payment processes.

Eater reports that theoretically, if you’re a repeat customer, the technology can learn your preferred orders and offer you a limited menu based on those choices, which means less time spent scrolling through other options you already know you don’t want. It could also mean that you’re able to pay without going through the hassle of actually using a credit card machine: if your card is linked to your license plate, just drive on through and the technology will charge you automatically.

On the one hand, people have strong feelings about drive-thrus they deem too slow:

@tacobell Drive thru took a minimum 25 minutes. My tacos were okay. My Quesadilla was probably the worst I've had from a TB. Guest service.. sub par.

— Erik Galganski (@ErikGalganski) July 12, 2019

The 25-minute limit comes up a lot:

Being forced to park while waiting in line is a bad sign.

It’s an extra cost, on top of the food.

However, some believe that the drive-thru experience adds a certain magic.

And in a heartwarming twist these tech companies didn’t see coming, some human workers already know their regulars:

Do you hear that, Starbucks?

Like technology (and lions), humans have the capacity to remember a familiar face even when it’s been a minute.

Can license plate-tracking AI make this affectionate tribute?

Can AI learn your name? (Actually, it probably can, but will it mean as much?)

(But don’t make it weird, okay?)

Some people don’t care about the technology tracking them.

So Alexa is spying on me ?Feel bad for the Amazon workers listening. Google maps is tracking me ? Riveting stuff for them . Don’t care .#mondaythoughts pic.twitter.com/xlygMj6EBb

— Matt James (@mattjamesradio) July 8, 2019

It’s become a part of everyday life for some…

A very large percentage of the time that I’m speaking at home is me telling my pets how good looking and wonderful they are. I hope the people at Amazon listening to my Alexa are enjoying my daily animal pep talks. 😅

— Hailley Griffis (@hailleymari) July 12, 2019

And a joke (we hope) to others:

But some people are not laughing.

It's really scary how with the tech we have. Our phone sensors, microphones and cameras are working all the time, and we've already had a lot of news about Google and Amazon storing our voice inputs from home and alexa and using them for development.

— Shub (@Shub28_) July 11, 2019

Before you disappear into your AI-free bunker, it’s currently not clear which chains are going to use the technology. That said, as Eater pointed out, McDonald’s just bought an AI startup called Dynamic Yield, specifically to improve their drive-thrus, so it’s possible that they could get on board in the future.

McDonalds buying dynamic yield validates this point. Pretty soon the drive up menu is going to be like buying from Amazon. Recommended products personalized for you as a part of a stat sig specific audience- then personalization will be at the individual consumer level

— Ryan Gross (@r2gross) June 19, 2019

According to Eater, the technology is on trial in some U.S. and Canadian chains, so it could be pulling up to a drive-thru near you sooner than you think…