{"id":5581,"date":"2026-08-19T18:09:07","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T18:09:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5581"},"modified":"2026-08-19T18:09:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T18:09:07","slug":"how-kfc-and-taco-bells-top-technologist-is-embracing-ai-and-automation-across-63000-restaurants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5581","title":{"rendered":"How KFC and Taco Bell\u2019s top technologist is embracing AI and automation across 63,000 restaurants"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Previously, the software that connected the chain\u2019s kitchen and fleet systems processed orders in a rudimentary \u201cfirst in, first out\u201d flow. An order would come into the restaurant and a ticket would immediately be generated to tell the kitchen to put the pizza in the oven. But there were plenty of times where the the order would sit idle waiting for an available driver.<\/p>

Read more Multimillionnaire podcaster Mel Robbins says she learned the secret to spotting the most influential person in the room when she was a waitress<\/a><\/p>\n

Dausch and his team created a data-forward automation layer that changed the workflow, telling cooks not to make the pizza until the system knew with greater certainty that further down the chain, a driver would be available for pickup. The change led to hotter food deliveries and a \u201cmeaningful\u201d increase in customer satisfaction scores, according to Dausch.<\/p>

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\u201cWe are sort of step-by-step going through what it takes to run our restaurant and finding every way we possibly can to automate those things,\u201d says Dausch.<\/p>\n

Dausch joined Yum Brands, which recently saw sales take a hit from a cyclospora outbreak, in December 2024 as global chief digital and technology officer of Pizza Hut. He was promoted 11 months later to hold that same title across the entire enterprise, which includes the Taco Bell and KFC brands. He oversees Yum\u2019s websites and apps, digital order platforms, corporate systems, AI and data, and restaurant technology across 63,000 global locations that are operated by around 1,500 franchisees.<\/p>\n

Yum is Dausch\u2019s first foray into the restaurant sector, but he says that his thinking around technology closely mirrors his 20 years of experience at hospitality giant Marriott. All of his technology investments focus on customers, workers, and the franchisees. For the franchisees, food and labor have traditionally been their largest expenses, but increasingly, they\u2019ve had to increase their investments in technology. Still, Dausch says they have little appetite to just accept every new tool without a clear return on investment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we talk to our franchisees, they\u2019re very worried about that,\u201d says Dausch. \u201cIf we can\u2019t prove that what we\u2019re putting in place is either going to meaningfully improve the customer experience in a way that drives higher same-store sales growth, or meaningfully reduce food waste in a way that is going to ultimately pay for itself, obviously the franchisee is going to kind of resist.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>

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With ROI in mind, there are times when Dausch has to say no. Robotics have generated buzz among franchisees, but no single prominent use case has emerged that Yum deems worthy of chasing. He\u2019s also cautious when buying the AI capabilities pitched by software-as-a-service vendors, saying higher chip costs and other infrastructure expenses have made pricing for these features too frothy.<\/p>\n

Some bigger technology bets Dausch has placed include digital kiosks, which have been rolled out to around two-thirds of restaurant locations globally and consistently produce higher check averages than in-person orders. An automated, voice AI ordering system has been rolled out to more than 900 Taco Bell U.S. restaurants, also with the intention of boosting order sizes, while also improving accuracy and increasing customer satisfaction.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

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Dausch acknowledges that the voice AI system has been a \u201clearning journey,\u201d requiring Yum to make tweaks to the system so that the handoff between the AI and human workers is smoother.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

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Across the quick-service restaurant industry, kiosks have been one of the biggest tech hits with diners, but even there, Dausch sees an opportunity for improvement. He\u2019s added a step where consumers can enter their loyalty program information so that kiosks can make more personalized offers based on the data the restaurant has from past orders.<\/p>

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At Yum, which ranks #474 on the Fortune 500, Dausch also oversees Byte, a proprietary SaaS restaurant technology platform that was designed to consolidate online and mobile app ordering, point of sale, kitchen and delivery, menu management, inventory, and labor management tools and systems. For now, Byte is completely an internal platform, though the intent is that it will have an external customer in Pizza Hut, which Yum agreed to sell for $2.7 billion in June.<\/p>\n

Dausch credits former CEO David Gibbs, who retired earlier this year, for setting the vision that Yum would need to prioritize technology and AI to compete aggressively in the restaurant sector. A typical restaurant location was managing up to 30 software vendors, and it could take a day or longer to pull insights from some of those systems. Byte operates as a single platform with just one data source.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe challenge was that the restaurants often did not have a common line of sight across all of those systems to how their business was doing in real time,\u201d says Dausch.<\/p>\n

One example of how Byte has helped improve restaurant operations has been in inventory ordering. Yum\u2019s automation system has led to an 85% reduction in \u201cstockouts,\u201d which is when a restaurant would run out of ingredients, resulting in lost sales when menu items aren\u2019t available.<\/p>

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Yum has authorized enterprise licenses for OpenAI\u2019s ChatGPT for district managers and franchise leaders, who are also mandated to take courses through an \u201cAI Academy\u201d that teaches them how to understand prompting, create digital executive assistants, and encourage the development of more than 400 AI agents.<\/p>\n

All that said, Dausch knows he\u2019s only one piece of the pie. \u201cI don\u2019t know anyone that has ever just selected a restaurant to go to based on the technology,\u201d says Dausch, who adds that craveable food at a fair price is what wins diners. \u201cIt\u2019s important for us that we don\u2019t lose the plot.\u201d<\/p>\n

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NEWS PACKETS<\/h3>

Anthropic\u2019s second-quarter revenue soars, less so at OpenAI. <\/b>Bloomberg <\/span>reported<\/span> last week that the Claude maker told prospective investors that its second-quarter revenue soared to more than $11.5 billion compared to just $787 million a year ago and $4.73 billion in the first quarter of 2026, as Anthropic has seen great demand from corporate customers for its AI products. Days later, the Wall Street Journal<\/em> reported that second-quarter sales growth grew at a slower pace at rival OpenAI. First-to-second quarter revenue increased 18% at OpenAI, but more than doubled at Anthropic, and the former’s operating margin dropped deeper in the red while Anthropic reported a small operating profit.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nvidia, OpenAI announce a massive new data center. <\/b>On Monday, the AI chipmaker <\/span>announced<\/span> it would provide up to $105 billion in financial backing for a massive data center in Ohio, which will be leased to OpenAI. The Pike County, Ohio, project could cost as much as $500 billion in total, the <\/span>New York Times<\/span><\/i> reports<\/span>, and under the terms of the agreement OpenAI will only lease the site as capacity becomes available. OpenAI\u2019s 20-year lease for the data center will provide the company with eight gigawatts of computing capacity. And as data centers <\/span>face bipartisan opposition from Americans<\/span>, OpenAI\u2019s <\/span>announcement for the project<\/span> loudly touted the creation of construction jobs, community fund grants, and millions in Codex credits as part of an effort to entice a more favorable local response.<\/span><\/p>

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Lululemon\u2019s chief AI and technology officer exits after less than a year. <\/b>The athleisure company confirmed that its top technology leader\u2014and the first to ever hold this title\u2014has <\/span>left Lululemon<\/span> and that the retailer is searching for a successor. Ranju Das initially joined Lululemon in September 2025, with a focus on leveraging AI and technology to enhance both the retail experience for customers and internal operations. Earlier in August, Das\u2019 predecessor, former CIO Julie Averill, wrote a <\/span>New York Times<\/span><\/i> op-ed<\/span> lamenting the pressure to add \u201cAI\u201d to news releases, job postings, and titles, with little strategy behind it. Luluemon has also faced <\/span>sales challenges<\/span> and recently <\/span>settled a conflict<\/span> with its founder, Chip Wilson, in a deal that adds three new directors to the company\u2019s board by October.<\/span><\/p>

Read more A Democratic Socialist just defeated a central figure in Trump\u2019s first impeachment trial in a Florida primary<\/a><\/p>\n

OpenAI, Google are offering AI to a new target age demo: children.<\/b> This week, OpenAI <\/span>announced<\/span> a special version of ChatGPT for teenagers with stronger protections around topics including sexual chats, self-harm, and suicide. This new version of the chatbot comes roughly two months after Florida <\/span>became the first U.S. state to sue<\/span> OpenAI over concerns that the core ChatGPT tool posed a risk to children. Meanwhile, Google last week <\/span>announced<\/span> that its Gemini chatbot would enable some features for K-12 schools to assist with math and writing assignments. The push by AI giants to offer their services to students comes as some schools have sought to <\/span>temporarily halt<\/span> the use of AI in schools.<\/span><\/p>

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China\u2019s tech firms Alibaba, Z.ai debut new models. <\/b>The U.S. versus China battle for AI dominance was on full display this week, with an announcement on Monday from Chinese tech giant Alibaba, which <\/span>debuted a new AI model<\/span> that\u2019s designed to run on consumer hardware like laptops. This new model, which is called <\/span>Qwen3.8-27B, can perform coding, professional work, research, and long-horizon agentic tasks, according to CNBC. Separately, the Beijing-based Z.ai <\/span>upgraded its flagship AI model<\/span>, GLM-5.3, with improved coding capabilities that closes the gap with market leaders like Anthropic\u2019s Fable 5.<\/span><\/p>\n

ADOPTION CURVE<\/h3>

Companies are bullish on agentic AI, but few feel workers are ready.<\/b> Three-quarters of business leaders expect that nearly half of their business processes will need to be redesigned or rebuilt around AI agents, according to a <\/span>recent survey<\/span> of 501 senior manager- to C-suite-level respondents conducted by consulting giant Deloitte. And a majority of these leaders feel prepared when it comes to their vision and strategy around agentic AI, as well as their technology infrastructure and data foundation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Where they feel less sturdy is in workforce readiness, with only 25% reporting they feel either prepared or highly prepared when it comes to agentic AI adoption. That\u2019s a big problem, considering agentic AI is not only expected to dramatically remake workflows, but also considering 61% report they expect humans will be expected to oversee these autonomous systems. How can an employee manage a system that they may not fully understand?<\/span><\/p>\n

China Widener, Deloitte’s vice chair and US Technology, Media & Telecommunications industry leader, tells <\/span>Fortune<\/span><\/i> that the firm\u2019s research has shown that for every dollar spent on technology 93 cents is allocated for the tech, leaving just seven cents for the human component. To better prepare for agentic AI, this formula may need to be reconsidered with more AI skills development, but also a clear vision from leaders as to what workflows will look like in the future.<\/span><\/p>

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\u201cHuman investment is equally important, because it\u2019s the human-agent interaction that\u2019s going to reap tremendous benefits in the long run,\u201d says Widener.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Courtesy of Deloitte<\/p>\n

JOBS RADAR<\/h3>
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– <\/span>Citi<\/b> is <\/span>seeking a global head of prime technology<\/span>, based in New York. Posted salary range: $250K-$500K\/year.<\/span><\/p>\n

– <\/span>Wiley <\/b>is <\/span>seeking a senior director of people technology<\/span>, based in Hoboken, New Jersey. Posted salary range: $189.7K-$278.6K\/year.<\/span><\/p>

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– <\/span>New York Life <\/b>is <\/span>seeking a VP, head of enterprise architecture<\/span>, based in New York. Posted salary range: $250K-$300K\/year.<\/span><\/p>\n

– <\/span>The Breast Cancer Research Foundation <\/b>is <\/span>seeking a director of technology and information systems<\/span>, based in New York. Posted salary range: $175K-$190K\/year.<\/span><\/p>

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– <\/span>Progress Software<\/b> announced<\/span> the appointment of Bridget Collins as CIO, where she will lead the enterprise software vendor\u2019s global IT and security organization and report to CEO Yogesh Gupta. Previously, Collins served as CIO at cybersecurity company Rapid7 and as CIO and chief transformation officer at Cerence, a software company that develops AI-powered virtual assistants for the auto market.<\/span><\/p>\n

– <\/span>Mantis Space<\/b> named<\/span> Dale Parkes as its first-ever CTO, where he will lead the engineering team at the space infrastructure startup and report to CEO Eric Truitt. Parkes joins Mantis Space from aerospace giant Boeing, where he worked for 25 years, where he was a technical fellow and served as a chief engineer.<\/span><\/p>\n

– <\/span>Valeris<\/b> appointed<\/span> Adam Miller to the role of chief technology and AI officer, a newly broadened position that reports directly to CEO Rob Truckenmiller. Miller joins the life sciences company after most recently serving as CTO at IT services provider PeakActivity. Previously, he was chief product officer at GoodRx and CIO at TherapeuticsMD.<\/span><\/p>

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– <\/span>Invoca<\/b> announced<\/span> the appointment of JB Brown as CTO, joining the call tracking and analytics company as it expands its use of AI agents. Previously, Brown served as VP of engineering at software-as-a-service company Smartsheet. He also previously spent nearly a decade in leadership roles at department store chain Nordstrom.<\/span><\/p>\n

– <\/span>Transient.AI<\/b> appointed<\/span> Michael Ponniah as CTO, where he will oversee the financial technology firm\u2019s global engineering, technical strategy, and platform architecture. Ponniah joins Transient.AI<\/span> after nearly a decade at Amazon, where he held senior engineering roles across Amazon Web Services, Alexa AI, and the company\u2019s last mile delivery logistics. He also spent seven years at financial giant Credit Suisse.<\/span><\/p>\n

– <\/span>Align <\/b>promoted<\/span> Noel Kilcooley to the role of CTO, where he will oversee the technology strategy, AI, cybersecurity, and compliance for the IT services company. Kilcooley has worked at Align since 1999 and previously served as senior systems engineer.<\/span><\/p>\n

– <\/span>Health Gorilla <\/b>announced<\/span> the appointment of Ryan Smith as CTO, where he will be responsible for platform architecture, engineering, and the technical roadmap for the healthcare software provider. Previously, Smith served as founder and CEO of the SaaS startup The Warehouse Co. He also was SVP of product and engineering at senior living and care software company Aline.<\/span><\/p>

<\/div>\n

– <\/span>Credit Acceptance<\/b> named<\/span> Jeetu Mirchandani to the role of CTO, effective August 27, where he will lead the auto financing company\u2019s engineering organization and technology strategy. Mirchandani joins Credit Acceptance after a 21-year career at Amazon, where he most recently served as a director of applied AI.<\/span><\/p>

Read more Amazon drones attack suburbs nationwide as delivery pilot expanded to nearly 500 cities<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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