It’s a question that comes up often in restaurant technology conversations: Will the incessant creep of tech into restaurants take away from hospitality?
The typical response is that tech, when applied correctly, can actually enhance hospitality, either by providing customers with more convenience or personalization, or by freeing up staff to engage more with diners.
This week, Bojangles, the Southern fried chicken chain, provided a great example of how tech can elevate service in ways that even the best employee could not. The Charlotte-based brand announced that it will offer Spanish-language ordering at the drive-thru at many locations, as well as on its app, website and at some in-store kiosks.
The effort would not have been possible without Bo-Linda, the AI-powered voicebot that takes drive-thru orders at more than 400 Bojangles. Bo-Linda, which is supplied by Hi Auto, can now switch from English to Spanish when prompted by the customer. Bojangles said it’s one of the only fast-food chains to offer bilingual ordering at scale.
In a video introducing the news, Bojangles’ CEO José Armario, speaking in Spanish, said the update is intended to make the brand more accessible and inclusive for Hispanic customers.
“This is about more than just technology – it’s about making every guest feel welcomed and understood,” he said in a separate statement. “As a Hispanic leader, I take pride in ensuring our brand reflects the communities we serve. Language should never be a barrier to hospitality.”
It’s a fantastic use of technology because, while nearly 14% of Americans speak Spanish at home, per Census data, there is really no analog solution for providing bilingual ordering at restaurants. With the unique abilities of AI, Bojangles can have a fluent Spanish speaker in every drive-thru.
This is also just smart business. Though Bojangles is concentrated in the Southeast, it is pushing Westward into Houston, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Southern California, all areas with a lot of Spanish speakers. The ability to interact with Bojangles in their preferred language could help endear them to the concept.
It reminds me of an anecdote about Kinko’s, the copy shop chain now owned by FedEx. In the early ’80s, the company began operating its shops around the clock, and daytime business doubled. According to founder Paul Orfalea, it’s because customers knew they could always count on Kinko’s to be open.
Bojangles isn’t going 24/7, but by adding an always-on Spanish-language option, it is similarly expanding access and reliability. And it is using technology to do it.
That technology is quickly expanding to other fast-food chains, and it could conceivably be programmed to learn just about any language. Restaurants love to talk about meeting customers where they are, and I can’t think of a better way to do that than literally speaking their language.
Now live in select markets, Bo-Linda is taking about 200 orders in Spanish every week, and the chain expects that number to grow as availability and awareness increase. If even a fraction of those 200 orders are incremental, it would probably be enough to cover the costs of adding the new capability.
But this is about more than just ROI. It’s about making customers feel seen and cared for. You can’t put a price on that.