A Texan realizes that Taco Bell’s drive-thru uses AI. Here’s his reaction: "I do that at Rally’s."
AI has made its way into many aspects of our lives, one of the most notable being fast-food drive-thrus. As soon as you approach the speaker, it’s a coin toss: will you be greeted by a human or a machine?
But just because AI has mastered the basics doesn’t mean it’s infallible. One man exploited a flaw in the system by making a simple, absurd request at Taco Bell.
What did he say to Taco Bell’s “AI” drive-thru?
Before pulling up to the Taco Bell drive-thru, Chris (@governor_megatron), a TikTok user from Texas, assumed that no employee would be there to greet him.
“Oh no. I think this drive-thru runs on AI,” he says. “You all know what I have to do.”
Once he reached the speaker, just as expected, an automated voice confirmed it. “Hello! Welcome to Taco Bell. How can I help you?” the machine asked him.
Immediately, the content creator pulls a trick out of his sleeve: “9,999 bottles of water,” he replies.
Suddenly, the AI pauses, trying to process the information before giving in. “I’ll ask a team member to help you,” it replies.
Needless to say, Chris is surprised. “It actually worked,” he writes in the caption, along with three laughing emojis.
“I’ll have a Big Mac meal and a Whopper”
Americans generally have mixed feelings about artificial intelligence. A Gallup poll found that 39% of them believed it did more harm than good—an 8% increase from the previous year.
Furthermore, a higher proportion of young Americans aged 18 to 29 hold an unfavorable view, with 47% of them sharing this perspective—an 11% increase. It’s no wonder, then, that internet users didn’t bat an eye when Chris pulled off this stunt.
“I love the exasperated tone,” commented one viewer.
“It’s the modern version of pressing ‘0’ to try to speak to a human,” noted another.
“I do that at the Panda drive-thru. I ask for something that’s not on the menu,” said a third.
In addition, others shared their own tricks for annoying the machine.
“1,000 chicken fajitas, please?!” shared one commenter.
“55 TACOS, 55 CINNABONS,” revealed another.
“I like to ask for 5,000 packets of hot sauce,” said a third.
“I’ll have a Big Mac meal and a Whopper,” joked another.
This isn’t the first time
In 2024, Taco Bell’s parent company, Yum Brands, announced that it would roll out hundreds of AI-equipped drive-thrus by the end of the year. The goal was to streamline order-taking, reduce employees’ workloads, and boost profits. Of course, it didn’t all go smoothly.
Last year, a man decided to pull a stunt at a Taco Bell drive-thru, much like Chris did. Instead of 9,999 glasses of water, he ordered no fewer than 18,000.
According to Chowhound, the system made a noise and froze, struggling to process this outlandish order. That’s when an employee stepped in to take over.
However, another glitch occurred without any employee there to save the day—this time involving a simple large Mountain Dew. The website recounted how a man, so exasperated by the AI assistant, started yelling, punched the steering wheel, and drove off.
Why? Because the bot kept asking him what he wanted to drink even though he had already told it.
Due to these experiences and complaints, the company suspended the use of these virtual assistants. However, it decided to continue rolling them out, expanding their use to more than 890 locations across 38 states.
Since technology can be unpredictable, it’s likely that these problems won’t be the last.
Subplot News reached out to Chris via private messages on Instagram and TikTok, as well as to Taco Bell via a press email. We will update this article if they respond.
@governor_megatron
The article “A Texan Realizes Taco Bell’s Drive-Thru Uses AI. He Reacts Like an ‘Uno Reverse’: ‘I Do That at Rally’s’” was first published on Subplot News.
A Texan realizes that Taco Bell’s drive-thru uses AI. Here’s his reaction: "I do that at Rally’s."
