Yazılar

TotalEnergies Partners with French AI Startup Mistral to Boost Energy Efficiency

/in /tarafından

TotalEnergies, the French oil and gas major, announced a new partnership with French AI startup Mistral to develop digital tools aimed at enhancing the performance of its energy business and industrial assets, improving energy efficiency, and reducing environmental impact.

The collaboration has already commenced with joint meetings at the companies’ existing facilities, though no new physical laboratory will be created. Together, they plan to develop an AI-powered assistant to support TotalEnergies in project development, operational decision-making to lower emissions, and improving customer support solutions focused on energy savings.

TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne highlighted AI’s transformative potential for energy systems and underscored the partnership as part of the company’s broader ambition to foster a European technological ecosystem.

Mistral recently launched Europe’s first AI reasoning model, designed to use logical thinking to generate responses, positioning itself among the leading AI innovators alongside U.S. and Chinese competitors.

Since 2022, TotalEnergies has actively engaged with various AI startups to enhance profitability and operational efficiency in its electricity business. Past initiatives include algorithm-driven predictive maintenance of wind turbines, optimization of electricity trading via advanced weather modeling, and improved digital planning for renewable energy farms.

Additionally, TotalEnergies experimented with Microsoft’s AI assistant Copilot by providing employees six months’ access to identify the most effective applications within the company, as revealed by Pouyanne at the AI Action Summit in Paris earlier this year.

Yum’s Taco Bell Introduces AI Tool for Fast-Food Managers

/in /tarafından

Taco Bell, a brand under Yum Brands, has introduced a new artificial intelligence-powered tool designed for restaurant managers, marking the latest move by a fast-food giant to integrate labor-saving technology. The announcement was made at a Yum investor event in Brooklyn, New York, where Taco Bell executives revealed that the company has invested $1 billion into digital and technological advancements.

The AI tool, called Byte AI Restaurant Coach, is designed to assist restaurant managers with various tasks such as labor and inventory management. Taco Bell’s Chief Digital and Technology Officer, Dane Mathews, explained that AI is already being used in some locations for labor and inventory purposes.

During the event, Taco Bell Chief Operating Officer Jason Kidd demonstrated the potential of the AI assistant with a video skit showing a restaurant manager interacting with the AI character. The AI assistant, played by an actor, points out missing shifts and even offers to assist in the drive-through in case of employee absenteeism.

Currently, around 500 Taco Bell locations in the U.S. utilize AI-driven voice technology for taking drive-through orders, a significant increase from 100 locations just six months ago. While some analysts found the demonstration “cool yet slightly unsettling,” Taco Bell’s Chief Technology Officer, Joe Park, clarified that the purpose of AI integration is not to cut labor costs but to free up workers for other responsibilities.

The fast-food industry has been increasingly embracing technology to evolve a business model that largely remained unchanged for decades. Competitors such as Chipotle and McDonald’s have also made significant strides in AI integration, with McDonald’s even collaborating with Google Cloud to bring AI to its locations, though not without challenges.

Taco Bell’s tech, under the brand name Byte by Yum, is currently used in nearly 25,000 of Yum’s 61,000 restaurants globally. The company is optimistic about expanding its digital footprint, with the possibility of eventually licensing the technology to businesses outside the Yum ecosystem.

Despite some technical advancements, Mathews acknowledged that Taco Bell’s journey with AI is still in its early stages. Analysts have expressed excitement about the software, with some suggesting that Yum could one day sell these tools beyond its own restaurants.