As restaurants continue to navigate staffing challenges, shifting customer expectations, and softer market conditions, one thing is becoming clear: the road to new revenue might just run through the car. 

In a recent webinar, Revolutionizing Restaurant Ordering: Tapping Into the In-Vehicle Driver Market, two SoundHound AI executives — Ben Bellettini, Senior Vice President of Restaurant Sales, and Seth Greenberg, Director of Demand Generation and Strategy — discussed how in-vehicle voice commerce is opening new revenue streams for restaurants. 

Voice commerce allows drivers to place orders by just talking to an in-car voice assistant.

They also shared highlights of the recent SoundHound AI-sponsored quantitative research study, conducted by research and analytics firm, Big Village, revealing that consumers are eager to order food through this new in-vehicle platform. All quoted stats in the blog are from that study.

You can listen to the full webinar recording here.

Here are the 10 key takeaways from the discussion:

1. Consumers want convenience, anywhere, anytime.

Ben: Convenience is top of mind for restaurant guests, and technology is playing an important role in fulfilling that, making ordering faster, easier, and more accurate. Consumers are open to all types of ordering platforms both on-premise and off-premise, including voice AI, self-serve kiosks, mobile apps, and more. 

2. AI is now the front door for discovery.

Seth: People aren’t only searching on Google anymore — they’re asking ChatGPT, their car, or their voice assistant. Discovery is changing fast. Restaurants need to ensure they’re discoverable on AI platforms where decisions now begin.

3. Simpler and safer In-vehicle voice ordering spurs impromptu food ordering.   

Ben:  Consumers are becoming more spontaneous in their food ordering — they’re hungry now, in motion, and turning to voice assistants in their vehicles to guide dining decisions. And 63% say they find it safer ordering with voice commerce than using the phone.

4. 80% of on-the-go shoppers would use in-car ordering.

Ben: The demand is real, as we’re seeing in our latest study. This stat alone signals that voice commerce isn’t a futuristic novelty — it’s a revenue engine waiting to be activated.

5. 77% prefer voice commerce over the drive-thru.

Ben: Convenience is king. While driving, just using their voice, they can pre-order, it’s accurate, it ties into loyalty. Restaurants can increase throughput without adding headcount — by moving orders upstream, before the guest even reaches the lane.

6. A $63 billion opportunity lies in the laggards.  

Seth:  41% of people who don’t usually order on the go say they’d do it with voice. That’s a 10-figure market expansion — tapping into customers previously unreachable through traditional ordering channels.

7. Loyalty and order history simplify repeat purchases.

Seth: When the AI voice assistant asks “Would you like to order the same meal you ordered last time,” voice commerce makes it simple and convenient. By integrating loyalty and order history into voice AI, restaurants can drive repeat purchases with ease — especially during micro-moments like traffic jams and post-practice pickups.

8. 11% conversion from voice-based promos (that’s 10x higher than digital ads).

Seth: A branded voice prompt delivers a 10x conversion rate vs. a traditional digital ad. This tells us that a well-timed voice suggestion while someone’s driving is proving incredibly powerful.

9. It’s Not Just for QSRs — It’s for every chain.

Ben:  From Applebee’s to Jersey Mike’s, full-service and fast-casual brands alike are tapping into voice AI — not just for drive-thru, but for reservations, FAQs, and more.

10. Voice commerce opens up new world of productivity capabilities in the car.

Seth:  We also did some drive-alongs as part of the study and one of the things people also liked about voice commerce is that it’s connected into the vehicle system so if a dashboard light comes on, for instance, the driver can ask what’s causing that, and get a response, without searching through a 60-page manual. And the AI agent can ask, “do you need a service appointment,” and it can actually book and facilitate that transaction.

Ready to Tap Into the New Wave of Commerce?

With over 2,000 restaurant locations already supported, SoundHound AI is helping merchants tap into a new wave of commerce — one that meets consumers where they are: on the road, in the moment, and hungry.

Want to learn more about in-vehicle voice commerce or schedule a demo? Visit SoundHound.com