July 31, 2025
SoundHound AI and Acrelec Team Up to Automate Drive-Thrus with Voice AI
SoundHound AI has announced a global partnership with quick-service restaurant (QSR) tech provider Acrelec to roll out fully automated, voice-enabled drive-thru systems.
The collaboration combines SoundHound’s Dynamic Drive-Thru voice technology with Acrelec’s content management and digital signage solutions. As a result, customers will be able to place their orders directly with an AI assistant, which processes the request and sends it straight to the point-of-sale system with no human intervention required unless needed.
This is a labour strategy for many restaurants. By automating the ordering process, staff can be redirected to kitchen or in-store tasks while still stepping in to support the AI assistant when necessary. It’s a hybrid model designed for speed, accuracy, and flexibility.
Chloe Bisiaux, Director of Innovation & Marketing at Acrelec, said: “Restaurants today are facing increased pressure to provide easy, efficient customer experiences while managing labor shortages and high operational demands. Through our partnership with SoundHound AI, we are empowering our clients with sophisticated AI solutions that will ultimately help them stay competitive and focused on what matters most: delivering great customer experiences and great food.”
With more than 25,000 drive-thru installations under its belt, including work with McDonald’s and Dunkin’, Acrelec brings the infrastructure and global scale. Meanwhile, SoundHound already supports voice AI across more than 10,000 restaurant locations, with its tech handling billions of voice queries a year across phones, kiosks, headsets, and more.
