Presto Voice uses custom voices to enhance the automated drive-thru guest experience

A new feature allows restaurants to use almost any voice for order taking at the drive-thru.

SAN CARLOS (Calif.), December 15, 2022–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Presto Automation Inc. (Nasdaq: PRSTPresto Voice, a global leader in restaurant technology, today announced the addition of a custom voice feature to its Presto Voice.^TM drive-thru automation solution. This innovative feature is a first in the industry and allows guests to speak with celebrities, mascots or characters while they place an order at the drive thru.

Drive-thru ordering becomes more than a transactional experience. Custom voices make it an enjoyable interaction that customers look forward to, and desire to repeat more often. Presto Voice will help fast-food restaurant increase sales, improve order accuracy and delight customers.

Presto Voice is currently the industry’s most widely adopted A.I.-powered drive-thru voice assistant with over 75% market share. It offers strong return on investment. It can increase upsell revenue by about $330,000 annually and reduce labor costs by approximately $35,000 annually for a typical drive through restaurant.

There are significant headwinds facing quick-service restaurants, such as a labor shortage, rising inflation, and a possible recession. For some operators, wage increases such as those imposed by the California FAST Recovery Act (“Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act”) will increase their costs. As drive-thru sales increase and headwinds continue to mount, automation is becoming the best solution. Presto Voice provides a significant advantage for restaurants by reducing human error, reducing wait time, and allowing staff to concentrate on improving customer experience.

These are some of the unique experiences that this new Presto Voice feature can offer:

• Celebrity Voices You can have drive-thru voice ordering with celebrities by talking to them. Their voice will be programmed so that they know all the details.

• Seasonal Experiences Presto Voice can be customized so that you can take orders in different voices depending on the season. For example, Santa Claus during Christmas or a witch during Halloween.

• Brand Mascots Restaurants have the option to make the order-taking voice their brand mascot such as Jack Box, Colonel Sanders or Ronald McDonald.

• Local Experiences You can customize the voice for local events and experiences, such as local heroes or players, or for other campaigns.

• Local Accents Presto Voice can also be customized to include local accents, slang, or colloquialisms.

• There is no limit to your flexibility Presto Voice’s voice customization feature is extremely flexible and allows for unlimited customizations of virtually any voice.

A recent Presto survey found that 68% of 18-44-year-olds said they are more likely to drive to a drive-thru when it has a celebrity voice to take orders.

“Automation technology doesn’t have to be boring or impersonal. “We are proud to offer this highly innovative automation solution that delivers thrilling guest experiences while increasing staff productivity,” Rajat Suri (founder and CEO of Presto) said. “It is important to integrate Presto Voice as soon as possible to keep ahead of the curve.

“Lack of quality talent is making it difficult for fast food companies to survive, leading many to cut down on their operational time. Customers often treat employees poorly. Presto is an automation tool that augments the ever-smaller workforce with conversational A.I. to address both of these problems. Rob Enderle, technology analyst with The Enderle Group shares that this can cover a shift while improving employee satisfaction.

Fast-service restaurants face a labor shortage and are often forced to operate at a lower level, which results in lower revenues and customers being frustrated. Presto Voice is specifically designed to help quick-service restaurants fully reopen and scale – even with limited staff. Presto Voice allows guests and staff to place orders using natural conversational voice recognition. The new custom voice feature will make driving-thru ordering more enjoyable for guests.

Presto Voice, an A.I.-powered next-generation solution, is powerful. To automate speech recognition at drive-thru eateries. Presto Vision can augment the voice solution.^TMA.I. powered product – a 16-part operational measurement on drive-thru efficiency. These real-time metrics are useful in reducing wait times and increasing order accuracy. Presto Flex^TM This complements the A.I. technology stack, a custom-designed multi-purpose tablet that can interchangeably be deployed for a variety restaurants dine-in or drive-thru apps including kiosks, staff handhelds, pay-at table, kiosks, and driver-thru line busting.

About Presto Automation Inc. (PRST)

Presto overlays next-generation technology onto the physical world. Presto’s enterprise-grade voice, vision, and touch technologies help hospitality businesses thrive while delighting guests. Presto is the industry’s largest provider of labor automation technology, with over 300 million transactions. M.I.T. founded Presto. Presto was established in Silicon Valley in California in 2008 and has customers that include most of the top 20 U.S. restaurants.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward looking statements as defined by Section 27A of Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”) and Section 21E of Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) Forward-looking statements include statements that relate to projections, forecasts, or other characterizations regarding future events or circumstances. This includes any underlying assumptions. Forward-looking statements are identified by words such “plan”, “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” „intend,” «outlook», “estimate,” [forecast], “continue], “could,” (“could”), “may,”,” potential,” “potential,” etc. However, the absence of these words does NOT mean that a statement will not be forward-looking. The forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations and assumptions about future events and are based on currently available information as to the outcome and timing of future events. These forward-looking statements are only valid as of the date this press release was issued or the date that they were made. Presto does not have any obligation to update forward-looking statements. All statements are qualified by the statements made in this section to reflect changes or other circumstances that may occur after the date of the press release. Presto warns that forward-looking statements can be affected by many uncertainties. Some of these risks are difficult to predict, and some of them are beyond Presto’s control. In addition, Presto cautions you that the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are subject to the following risks and uncertainties: our ability to manage our growth effectively, to sustain our recent revenue growth or attract new customers; the limited operating history with our new Vision and Voice products in a new and developing market; our ability to achieve revenue growth while our expenses increase; continued adverse impacts from COVID-19 (including as a result of global supply chain shortages); the loss of any of our three largest customers or a reduction in their business with us; our ability to improve and enhance the functionality, performance, reliability, design, security, or scalability of our platform to respond to customers’ evolving needs; our ability to protect the security of our customers’ information; changing privacy laws, regulations and standards, and our ability to comply with contractual obligations and laws related to data privacy and security; unfavorable conditions in the restaurant industry or the global economy, including with respect to food, labor, and occupancy costs; the availability of capital or financing on acceptable terms, if at all; financial covenants and other restrictions on our actions contained in our financing agreements that may limit our operational flexibility; the length and unpredictability of our sales cycles and the amount of investments required in sales efforts; material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting and, our ability to remediate these deficiencies; our ability to continue as a going concern; our ability to receive additional financing in a timely manner; shortages, price increases, changes, delays or discontinuations of hardware; our ability to maintain relationships with our payment processors; our reliance on computer hardware, licensed software and services rendered by third parties; U.S. laws and regulations (including with respect to payment transaction processing), many of which are unsettled and still developing, and our or our customers’ ability to comply with such laws and regulations; significant changes in U.S. and international trade policies that restrict imports or increase tariffs; any requirements to collect additional sales taxes or be subject to other tax liabilities that may increase the costs to our customers; our ability to adequately protect our intellectual property rights; claims by third parties of intellectual property infringement; our use of open-source software in our platform; and other economic, business, competitive and/or regulatory factors affecting Presto’s business generally as set forth in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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Contacts

Sana Javaid
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