Hi Auto expands drive-thru AI to monitor pickup window interactions

A drive-thru handoff that used to disappear the moment a bag changed hands is now becoming measurable, audible and searchable. Hi Auto launched Window Intelligence on April 17, a beta product that puts a microphone at the pickup window, ties the conversation to point-of-sale data and tells operators whether a change came from an employee mistake or an AI error.

The system is already being tested with three brands, including Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken, and Hi Auto said it is available to existing customers as well as new deployments. The company describes it as the first AI capability that analyzes both sides of the drive-thru, not just the order-taking lane. In practice, that means managers can see when a guest interaction went smoothly, when it broke down and whether the window was silent altogether, which Hi Auto flags as a void.

For workers, that is the central tension. The pickup window has long been one of the most exposed points of service in a quick-service restaurant, where crew members juggle speed, accuracy, hospitality and a steady line of cars. Lee’s co-owner said the pickup window had historically been a blind spot, language that sounds like a coaching tool on paper but can also read like a new layer of scrutiny for hourly staff who already work under ticket-time pressure and constant staffing strain. If a bag is wrong or a customer says a sauce packet never made it in, the system is designed to show exactly where the breakdown happened and who, or what, caused it.

Lee’s is a useful example of how fast that surveillance footprint can spread. The chain first tested Hi Auto’s order-taker in 30 locations before opening it more widely to franchisees. Intel’s case study said the chain had Hi Auto integrated with its drive-thru, headset and POS systems, which means the pickup window is no longer just a handoff point. It is part of a connected workflow where every correction, every pause and every interaction can be logged.

Roy Baharav, Hi Auto’s co-founder and CEO, said the window tool gives operators a real-time view of what is happening so they know when service is strong, when it is not and where it broke down. That pitch lands in an industry where labor shortages, turnover and speed targets have pushed chains toward automation. Restaurant Dive reported in 2024 that Bojangles planned to deploy Hi Auto at hundreds of drive-thrus and said the tool was more than 95% accurate, while NBC News reported that 16% of restaurant operators planned to invest in AI, including voice recognition. The latest step shows where that trend is heading: not just automating the order, but watching the worker who hands it out.