Bots are taking over apps, and this latest one is making ordering from our favorite fast food chain so much easier.
Taco Bell announced on Wednesday that customers will soon be able to order select items from its menu by communicating with its new TacoBot directly in Slack.
As the first food-ordering tool to be integrated into Slack, Taco Bell customers will be able to place their order for pick-up from their local restaurant chain while on the go, via the app or before they plan to head out from their desktops.
"The TacoBot Slack integration is the latest step on our journey to make the brand more accessible wherever and whenever our fans want it," Lawrence Kim, Director of Digital Innovation and On Demand for Taco Bell said in a press release. "Taco Bell is about food tailor-made for social consumption with friends, and that's why integrating with a social communications platform like Slack makes perfect sense. TacoBot is the next best thing to having your own Taco Bell butler ... and who wouldn't want that??"
To place an order, the Slack user starts by pinging TacoBot the items they want, such as two hard-shell beef tacos. The bot will then address the order, also confirming any other ingredients that come with that menu item, such as cheese and lettuce.
The user can then continue to order more items by telling the Slack bot the next thing from the menu they want, and even further customize their order to add on items like extra cheese or inform the bot that they want no tomatoes. Each time something is added or taken away, TacoBot will bullet point each ingredient to make sure the order is correct.
Once the order is complete, the user types "Check out," and TacoBot will provide the user with their total, including taxes. It will also give the Taco Bell location at which the user will be able to pick up their order.
This sounds like taco heaven for us, but as of right now, TacoBot is just in private beta. Taco Bell is expected to roll out the Slack bot in the "coming months," so we will just have to keep being patient for now.
Don't forget that we can also use Taco Bell's mobile ordering and payment app that was released in 2014. Customers can also place an order online at the company's website.
