Domino’s is betting AI will help it make and deliver pizzas faster, according to CEO Russell John Weiner, who says the world’s biggest pizza company is already using the technology.
“We make pizzas before people order them,” Weiner told investors during the company’s earnings call in May. “You start your order online and at some point, our algorithm figures out you’re ready to order and we start making them.”
With AI, delivery drivers won’t need to spend time looking for a parking spot to come in and grab the pizza, Weiner said, because by having it ready workers can run it out to them.
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“That means we’re making your pizza sooner. It means we’re bringing out the delivery driver quicker,” he said. “It means more run for them, more tips, it means faster delivery for you. And that brings people back.”
“That’s not the most sophisticated Star Trek-like algorithm, but man is that helping the business right now,” Weiner said. At some point, Domino’s eventually wants to get to the point where AI can be smart enough to detect when there aren’t enough delivery drivers or when to hold off on making pizzas, he said, rather than a manager having to make those decisions.
Domino’s is already working with Microsoft to use AI to make ordering pizza easier on its website. Weiner said he wants customers to think of the AI assistant “almost like a pizza concierge service.”
Meanwhile, Weiner is also hoping that AI can help Domino’s streamline operations in the back of house. It is developing an AI assistant intended to help store managers save time on daily tasks such as inventory management, ingredient ordering and staff scheduling.
“How can we use AI to figure out those solutions,” he said. “Do they go through the training manual? Do they call the phone number up or do they use this co-pilot technology to figure it out on the fly without incident? That’s what we’re working out with Microsoft.”