Bojangles Is Putting Its AI Order Taker ‘Bo-Linda’ in Every Drive-Thru
Bojangles will expand its Hi Auto voice AI system to all 890-plus restaurants. The company says it handles more than 1 million orders a week with a 98% success rate.
At Bojangles, the voice taking your order will soon be AI everywhere. The chain is expanding its drive-thru AI system, Bo-Linda, across its entire system.
TLDR
- Bo-Linda, built with Hi Auto, is in nearly 500 Bojangles locations today.
- It will expand to all of the chain’s more than 890 restaurants.
- More than 100 additional locations are expected by mid-2027.
- The companies report a 98% success rate and more than 1 million orders a week.
The Rollout
Bojangles began testing the voice AI order taker in 2024 and has grown it to nearly 500 locations, Nation’s Restaurant News reported. A multiyear extension with Hi Auto will bring it to the whole system. The companies report a 98% success rate in the initial rollout.
Smarter Upselling
A new feature changes upsell suggestions in real time based on the length of the drive-thru line. When the line is long, it promotes items that are faster to prepare, to add sales without slowing service. The system already adjusts suggestions for daypart, weather and inventory. Each order is also paired with an image of the car that placed it, to help staff match orders when two lanes merge.
Richard Del Valle, Bojangles’ chief information officer, called it a “rare tool that improves the guest and employee experience at the same time.” Franchisee Michael Haynes said, “What matters to me is whether a system actually works at the store level, day in and day out.”
Why It Matters
Voice AI at the drive-thru is moving from pilot to standard. Once AI is deciding what to suggest based on wait times and inventory, it is shaping what people order and eat, not just taking the order.
Source: Nation’s Restaurant News. Read the report.