Man shares simple 3-word hack to skip Taco Bell’s AI and get a real worker

A Taco Bell customer was sick of dealing with the chain’s new AI assistant at the drive-thru, so he came up with a clever workaround to make sure a real worker picked up his order every time. According to the Daily Dot, the video, originally shared by TikToker Kristine Alise (@kristinealise) before it was deleted, showed a man leaning into the speaker at a Taco Bell drive-thru.

Instead of rattling off his order, he calmly told the AI, "One thousand waters." The system, confused by the strange request, responded, "Let me get a team member to help you." Moments later, a human worker was on the line, and the man placed his order as usual. The clip resonated with people because so many fast-food customers have been voicing frustration about AI-powered drive-thrus. While Taco Bell introduced the voice chatbot in 2024 as part of its tech expansion — promising an "intuitive, user-friendly technology" that would "create a seamless ordering experience" — the reality has been hit or miss. And Taco Bell isn’t alone — chains like Carl’s Jr., Wendy’s, Pizza Hut, and KFC have also been experimenting with drive-thru bots.

On r/TacoBell, customers have described misheard orders and slow lines. "Ordered Cheesy gordita supreme and chalupa supreme. Wanted onions on that, AI interpreted it as I wanted 3x chalupa supreme," the OP wrote, "I tried to replace meat with black beans, and it wouldn’t listen. The line was already moving slowly. Apparently, 3 cars in front of me had to place the order in-person." u/SubstantialSavings30, who is also a Taco Bell worker, said, "I am BEGGING you guys to complain, boycott, ANYTHING. I hate this new AI stuff. Interacting with customers more and being able to help them is my favorite part of my job. We are required to have the AI take orders for us now." u/musiquexcoeur said, "I can tolerate TikTok and other drive-thru voices, but something about the Taco Bell AI makes me jump every time."

Even research suggests that people aren't really thrilled about this update. A recent YouGov survey revealed that only 4% of Americans said they would rather order from an AI chatbot at the drive-thru. By contrast, 55% said they prefer a real person, and another 20% opted for ordering online and picking up instead. Interestingly, even younger consumers weren’t sold on AI, with just 6% of people under 35 saying they liked the idea of talking to a chatbot at the speaker, showing that resistance spans across age groups. The study suggested that many customers feel AI is impersonal, and when mistakes happen, it slows down the process rather than speeding it up.

In that context, the "one thousand waters" line felt like a simple pressure valve. It just triggered the system to hand the conversation to a real person so the order could move forward, and that got a lot of praise from the viewers. One user wrote, "I just sit there until someone answers because I don’t care about your drive-thru timer." Another said, "All you have to do is say you’re checking in with the app, and AI doesn’t know what the hell to do." A third added, "I literally say hey, and the team member takes over the AI."

You can follow Kristine Alise (@kristinealise) on TikTok for more lifestyle content.

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