In the QSR (Quick Service Restaurant) industry; whether at a self-service kiosk, on a mobile app, or through a drive-thru headset, every second between selecting an item and paying for it is a chance to increase the order’s value. That’s where upselling should happen. Yet too often, these opportunities slip by because the system either can’t read the moment or offers irrelevant suggestions.
When the technology driving that interaction is poorly designed or rushed to market, the consequences aren’t just lost revenue; they can include frustrated customers, public embarrassment, and operational chaos. The industry has already seen high-profile examples, like McDonald’s, where underperforming AI became a headline for all the wrong reasons.
The Missed Potential of Digital Upselling in QSR
In the QSR landscape, consumers expect speed and convenience, but they also respond to smart, well-timed suggestions.
Too many ordering systems rely on static prompts, like “Would you like fries with that?” that ignore a customer’s order history, preferences, weather, or time of day.
The result?
- Lower average order values.
- Lost opportunities for promoting seasonal or premium items.
- An impersonal, mechanical customer experience.
How Teneo.ai Changes the Game for QSR
Conversational, Context-Aware Upsells
Teneo AI sales assistants don’t just recognize what the customer says, they understand why. If a customer orders a spicy chicken sandwich at 6pm on a hot day, a Teneo AI can suggest a cooling milkshake. If they add a family meal, it can offer an upgrade or limited-time dessert bundle. If this is a regular customer, Teneo can suggest upgrades they’ve taken in the past, products similar to other things they’ve ordered regularly and even remind them of changes they usually make – “you normally have the creole fries without jalapenos, do you want me to remove those for you?”
Real-Time, Seamless Integration
By leveraging existing REST API integrations, Teneo AI assistants can access restaurant menus, CRM systems, and promotions databases in real time. This enables dynamic, data-driven upsells that factor in customer preferences, inventory levels, dietary requirements, and current promotions, without slowing down the ordering process. It also allows the AI to provide other information like allergens and calories mid-order without losing its place in the order process.
Multi-Channel Consistency for QSR
Whether a customer orders at a kiosk, on an app, website, or drive-thru, Teneo AIs keep upsell prompts consistent and on-brand. This avoids mixed messages, builds trust, and ensures customers always get relevant, high-quality suggestions; delivered in over 100 languages to serve a truly global customer base.
Proven, Enterprise-Ready Technology
Choosing a platform trusted by enterprise brands is key to avoiding costly mistakes. McDonald’s AI ordering pilot famously produced misheard orders, incorrect charges, and customer frustration, problems that forced them to scale back. Teneo’s proven global track record ensures reliability, scalability, and secure performance at scale across multiple geographies and languages.
Why Choosing the Right AI Matters
Selecting the right AI solution is critical to delivering reliable, scalable, and customer-focused results in the QSR industry. Key considerations include:
- Accuracy – Upselling and order handling rely on understanding what the customer wants with precision. Teneo.ai achieves 99% accuracy in conversation understanding, enabling relevant, context-driven suggestions that boost order value without disrupting the experience.
- Security – Protecting customer data and transactions is non-negotiable for maintaining trust and meeting compliance standards. Teneo.ai offers enterprise-grade security, is GDPR compliant, and ISO 27001 certified, ensuring data is safeguarded end-to-end.
- Scalability – QSR environments face high order volumes and peak-time surges. Teneo.ai is proven to handle millions of daily interactions without performance loss, ensuring consistent service even under heavy demand.
- Customer Experience – The ordering process should feel natural and brand-aligned. Teneo.ai delivers human-like interactions across channels, keeping the tone consistent and the upsell experience engaging and non-intrusive.
Want to learn more?
In food service, the most effective upsells don’t feel like upsells, they feel like thoughtful recommendations that enhance the customer’s experience.
Teneo.ai enables this by:
- Turning every interaction into a revenue opportunity.
- Safeguarding your brand with enterprise-grade AI.
- Delivering consistent, contextual, and customer-first ordering experiences.
In the QSR business, it’s not enough to take the order, you have to make the order better. Get in touch with us to see how Teneo.ai can help.