For 25 years, the Drive-Thru Study has set the standard for how QSR brands measure performance. Each edition is built from months of fieldwork, data collection and analysis that turn hundreds of visits into insights the industry can trust. Over that time, the study has consistently tracked the core metrics that define every drive-thru customer’s experience: speed of service, order accuracy, satisfaction, food quality, and suggestive selling.
In this very special 25th anniversary edition, we have gone deeper. Brands are now grouped into Classic, Chicken, and Beverage categories, offering a clearer way to compare results within competitive segments and spot opportunities for improvement.
This year also places a major focus on Voice-AI ordering.
Today, 62% of QSR leaders say labor is their most pressing challenge. With staffing shortages and rising wages bulldozing the industry, many restaurants are betting big on drive-thru Voice-AI ordering. This report takes a closer look at how this technology is performing in the field and raises an important question: Is Voice-AI a step toward long-term change, or is it still an experiment finding its place?
As the study celebrates its 25th anniversary, it brings new context, new questions, and new insights into today’s drive-thru trends.
Let’s jump right in!
The 2025 Drive-Thru Study is based on 165 mystery shops per brand across 13 U.S. chains, with locations selected for broad geographic coverage. Shoppers also completed 120 Voice-AI orders at three brands where an AI assistant managed the ordering process.
Data was collected from June to July 2025, with visits spread across breakfast, lunch, afternoon, and dinner periods, as well as different days of the week, to capture performance in real-world conditions.
The brands included in this year’s study are Arby’s, Burger King, McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Wendy’s, Chick-fil-A, KFC, Raising Cane’s, Dunkin’, along with four new entrants: Dutch Bros, Popeyes, Starbucks, and Tim Hortons.
Curious about Mystery Shopping Evaluations?
Here's how you can Turn a Generic Mystery Shopping Evaluation into a Great One.
As part of the 25th anniversary, we took a step back to look at how drive-thru traffic has evolved since 2018. The trend shows us that fewer cars are pulling into the lane today. What also stood out this year, however, is that service times grew longer, likely due to mobile orders, customizations, and app payments adding complexity behind the scenes.
So, what made the real difference?
We also analyzed variations in window time, service time, total time, wait time, time per car and the impact of stations.
Brands are racing to claw back seconds with double lanes, express pick-up windows, and bold new store designs.
Why the focus? Because drive-thru speed equals revenue. According to the National Restaurant Association, 75% of all restaurant traffic is now takeout orders. Nearly 95% of consumers say speed is critical to the experience, and 90% rank it as their top priority. When seconds decide satisfaction, every improvement leads to stronger sales.
Want to know where the real speed gains are happening? Download the 2025 Drive-Thru Study to find out!
Customers want a simple and reliable system. They expect to head to the drive-thru, place their order, and receive exactly what they asked for every single time. This is the promise of today’s QSRs, and customers want to see it delivered.
By not doing so, brands begin to lose their trust. That’s how important accuracy is.
Our research found that order accuracy dropped by 2 percentage points compared to last year, with dinner times proving the biggest challenge. Afternoon visits, on the other hand, achieved the best accuracy rate at 90%.
Top reasons for errors in 2025:
25% from wrong items entirely.
Shopper Quote: "I had asked for no ice, but they put ice in my drink. The receipt did not list the no ice request. When I first ordered my drinks, he thought I had ordered the one that has the cream in it."
A few brand comparisons:
Jump right into our study to see the whole spectrum of insights!
“Do you want to make that a combo?”
“Would you like an apple pie with that?”
A few simple words can elevate the experience and bring more revenue to the table. The drive-thru is the perfect moment for this. It’s quick, direct, and gives brands a chance to offer customers options before they scan through a menu board.
In fact, we analyzed how suggestive selling impacts speed depending on whether upselling happens during the greeting or after the order is placed. The difference was about 36 seconds. Download the report to see which method gets cars through the lane faster.
A few brand comparisons:
An interesting shift in the industry is how digital menu boards are taking on a bigger role in upselling. At Tim Hortons, new digital boards were introduced as part of their drive-thru upgrades, and in 2024, Restaurant Brands International reported a 33% increase in sales of promoted items and a 38% rise in overall sales tied to their rollout. It’s another example of how the drive-thru is evolving into a smarter, more profitable channel.
We dug deeper with customer surveys to also find out How Presell Boards Influence Drive-Thru Orders.
Taste. Temperature.
The two deal-breakers that define food quality. If the food doesn’t taste good or come out at the right temperature, it almost always ruins the drive-thru experience.
Brands recognize this, and it shows. The study average for food quality in 2025 was 97%. Arby’s led the Classic segment with 99%, Raising Cane’s topped Chicken at 100%, and Dutch Bros led Beverage at 99%, also scoring 98% in beverage quality.
Our report also tracks taste and temperature trends for both main items and side items from 2018 through 2025. Download the study to see how the results have shifted over time.
Are your customers happy with every part of your service? Will they return? Satisfaction is a key part of the overall customer experience.
This year’s data shows overall satisfaction with the level of service averaged 91%, with accuracy and friendliness as the strongest drivers. Chick-fil-A and Dutch Bros led the study, each boasting satisfaction ratings of 98%.
But friendliness really stood out as the thing that set some brands apart. Even in the drive-thru, where interactions are brief, customers still want the experience to feel personal. Surprisingly, only four brands exceeded the study’s friendliness average of 78%. One brand from the Classic category scored the lowest friendliness rating of 65%.
This matters because the study highlights a clear trend: brands with friendlier service consistently achieve stronger results across the board.
Voice-AI pilots first appeared in drive-thrus a few years ago as QSRs searched for ways to cut labor costs, improve speed, and boost consistency. Today, more brands across North America are testing AI-enabled prototypes as a potential long-term solution.
As part of the 2025 Drive-Thru Study, we visited AI-enabled locations of Burger King, Taco Bell, and Wendy’s. We tracked the same five core metrics, along with AI-specific factors such as order repetition and speaker clarity. Here, orders were taken by an AI voice assistant, providing a direct comparison between automation with no human intervention and staff-run service in the drive-thru.
What stood out?
But not everything was smooth. 62% of incorrect AI orders were tied to one recurring struggle that often required an employee to step in and complete the order. Whenever staff jumped in to fix the issue, accuracy improved by 14 percentage points.
Shopper Quote: "The AI heard that I wanted cheese and chips, but I quickly corrected it to chips and wok. I told it so, but it would not change it. I also had to repeat my drink size. I said I wanted a large and told it so twice."
The 2025 Drive-Thru Study goes beyond the highlights we’ve shared here. Inside, you’ll find detailed brand comparisons, year-over-year drive-thru trends, and deeper insights into the shifts shaping the future of the drive-thru.
Curious about how your brand measures up to the top names in the industry? Become a Challenger Brand and find out!
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