Yum Bets Big On AI As It Attempts To Move To 100% Digital Sales

Yum Brands is betting big on artificial intelligence (AI) to move 100% of its sales to digital.

The company's digital system sales exceeded over $9 billion, according to a quarterly earnings report released Thursday.

Chief Financial Officer Chris Turner talked about the company's goal of complete digital sales in the earnings report, saying "digital sales up approximately 15% and digital mix surpassing 50%."

Turner said Yum Brands will be able to do this through, Byte by Yum!, a proprietary software and digital ecosystem that includes AI-driven products for easier operations.

"Today, we announced Byte by Yum!, a comprehensive collection of proprietary Software as a Service (SaaS) AI-driven products that deliver integrated and seamless technologies for our restaurants," Turner said.

The platform will be used by both employees and customers.

The technology will power mobile apps, web ordering, point of sale, kitchen and delivery optimization, menu management, inventory and labor management and various team member tools.

Turner said Byte by Yum! reflects "steady progress towards our ambition to reach 100% digital sales."

Currently, 25,000 Yum restaurants, which include KFC International, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut across the world use at least one Byte by Yum! product.

Last year, Taco Bell rolled out AI drive-thrus in multiple locations.

Yum Brands says Taco Bell's value meals played a significant role in driving its sales in the last quarter.

The company's Board of Directors approved a dividend of $0.71 per share of common stock, a 6% increase.