Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken Opens System-Wide Access To Hi Auto As Drive-Thru AI Moves Into Mainstream Operations

The quick-service restaurant industry has spent years trying to solve the same persistent problem: how to keep drive-thrus fast, accurate, and efficient without overloading staff. Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken is now taking a decisive step in that direction by expanding access to Hi Auto’s AI Order Taker across its franchise network after validating performance in 30 live locations.

What makes this rollout notable is not just the technology itself, but the way it is being introduced, carefully, optionally, and only after foundational system upgrades were completed.

A Quiet Infrastructure Reset Behind The AI Rollout

Before AI could scale across the system, Lee’s undertook a less visible but critical transformation: unifying its POS system and menu database. While not as headline-grabbing as artificial intelligence, this work became the backbone of the entire rollout.

For franchise systems, fragmented menus and inconsistent ordering structures often make automation difficult to scale. By standardizing its digital infrastructure, Lee’s ensured that every restaurant could support AI ordering without customization barriers undermining performance.

With this foundation in place, the brand tested Hi Auto in 30 locations, combining company-owned and franchise stores to observe how the system performs in real drive-thru environments rather than controlled pilots.

Franchisees Get Choice, Not Mandates

Rather than enforcing a system-wide mandate, Lee’s is positioning Hi Auto as an optional capability available to all franchisees. That distinction matters in a franchise environment where operators often weigh innovation against cost, staffing realities, and local demand.

This approach reflects a broader philosophy: technology should be an advantage offered to operators, not a requirement imposed on them.

“Our operators are the backbone of Lee’s, and it’s our job to give them every advantage we can,” said Ryan Weaver, CEO of Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken. “After seeing the results Hi Auto delivered in our first 30 stores, including better labor efficiency, shorter lines, a happier team, and guests getting their orders just the way they want them, we wanted to make this tool available to every franchisee who wants it.”

The framing is intentional, as adoption is encouraged through performance evidence rather than enforcement.

Real-World Results Drive Interest Across The System

The strongest argument for adoption comes from operational data gathered during the initial rollout phase. Across participating locations, Hi Auto’s AI Order Taker has consistently achieved more than 95% order completion rates and 97% accuracy.

In the high-pressure environment of drive-thru service, those numbers translate into fewer order corrections, faster throughput, and smoother peak-hour performance.

The operational benefits extend beyond accuracy. Restaurants using the system report saving three to eight labor hours per day, reducing employee turnover by 17%, and increasing average ticket size by approximately 1.5%.

Taken together, these outcomes suggest the system is influencing both efficiency and revenue performance simultaneously.

Labor Roles Are Being Reshaped, Not Removed

One of the more subtle shifts introduced by AI order automation is how it changes the structure of frontline labor. Instead of employees splitting attention between headset orders and in-store tasks, the ordering function is handled by AI, freeing staff to focus on food preparation and guest experience.

This shift reduces peak-hour stress, particularly during high-volume rushes when multitasking often leads to bottlenecks and errors.

Rather than replacing employees, the system redistributes their workload in a way that stabilizes operations and improves consistency.

Hi Auto Brings Scale And Operational Proof

Hi Auto’s credibility in the space comes from its scale. The company powers nearly 1,000 drive-thru locations globally and processes more than 100 million orders annually. It also works with around 200 franchisees across three continents, exposing its system to a wide range of operational environments.

This breadth of deployment has allowed the platform to refine its performance under varied conditions, from independent restaurants to large franchise systems like Lee’s.

Hi Auto CEO Roy Baharav has emphasized that the goal of the technology is not replacement but empowerment to give operators tools that enhance decision-making and operational control.

A Measured Path Toward AI Integration

Lee’s rollout reflects a deliberate strategy rather than a rapid transformation. By combining infrastructure standardization with optional technology adoption, the brand is creating a system where innovation can scale without forcing uniform operational change.

This approach allows franchisees to adopt AI at their own pace while still benefiting from system-wide investment in technology readiness.

As adoption expands, Lee’s strategy may serve as a model for how mid-sized QSR brands can integrate AI into core operations without disrupting franchise independence.