Skip to content
‹ Back to IndustriesEnergy

DevOps Meets the Drive-Thru: How IBM WatsonX Orders is Powering AI-Driven QSR Efficiency

IBM WatsonX Orders is an AI-driven solution designed to automate and streamline order management in quick-service restaurants (QSRs), helping operators handle high transaction volumes with greater consistency and lower operational costs. The article explores how DevOps principles and AI automation are converging in the fast-food industry to improve drive-thru and ordering efficiency. As QSR operators face mounting labor and accuracy challenges, AI-powered tools like WatsonX are emerging as a practical response.

This story was produced through MarketScale. See how Energy teams put it to work with Customer Stories & Case Studies.

Promoted content from Experts Talk on MarketScale.

By Daniel Litwin · · Daniel LitwinExperts TalkIbm Watsonx OrdersKunal Khanna
Share

Key takeaways

01

IBM WatsonX Orders applies AI automation to QSR drive-thru and ordering workflows, reducing errors and improving throughput.

02

DevOps methodologies are being adapted to food service technology, enabling faster iteration and deployment of AI ordering systems.

03

AI-driven ordering can lower labor costs and improve order consistency across high-volume QSR locations.

Free workspace

Turn your Energy expertise into content.

Record interviews, organize footage, and write with AI on a free trial of the MarketScale platform for qualifying companies. No demo required, no credit card.

Try it Free

The drive-thru experience is evolving faster than ever, thanks to AI-powered automation and DevOps-driven innovation. Quick-service restaurants (QSRs) process thousands of orders daily, facing challenges like labor shortages, operational inconsistencies, and the need for rapid adaptation to customer demands. With AI-backed solutions, brands can optimize their workflows, cut costs, and improve customer experience. IBM WatsonX Orders is at the forefront of this transformation, integrating DevOps and Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) strategies to refine AI-powered drive-thru systems in real-time.

But how do development teams ensure these AI-driven solutions can continuously iterate and improve to meet the fast-paced demands of the QSR industry? How does DevOps accelerate AI adoption in restaurant operations while ensuring reliability?

Welcome to Experts Talk. In the latest episode, host Daniel Litwin, the voice of B2B, sits down with Kunal Khanna, Head of DevOps & SRE at IBM WatsonX Orders, to explore the fusion of DevOps and AI in QSR operations. They discuss how AI-driven order management systems are reshaping the drive-thru experience, how DevOps methodologies enhance scalability and reliability, and what the future holds for AI in restaurant technology.

The key topics of discussion…

  • AI Automation in QSRs: How AI-driven ordering systems can handle up to 90% of orders without human intervention, reducing labor costs and improving efficiency.
  • The Role of DevOps & SRE: Strategies for rapid iteration, model retraining, and edge deployment to ensure seamless AI operations in high-pressure environments.
  • Scalability & Future Innovations: The potential of agent-to-AI models and how IBM WatsonX is optimizing hardware and software for future-proof QSR solutions.

Kunal Khanna is a technology leader specializing in DevOps, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), and AI-driven solutions, currently serving as Head of DevOps & SRE at IBM WatsonX Orders. With over a decade of experience, he has led large-scale deployment and automation initiatives at companies like McD Tech Labs, Poynt by GoDaddy, and Synopsys, focusing on AI-powered operational efficiencies. His expertise spans cloud infrastructure, edge computing, and CI/CD systems, making him a key driver in the evolution of AI-enhanced automation in QSR and enterprise technology.

Experts Talk

Part of this channel

Experts Talk

Industry experts debate the ideas that drive B2B decisions.

Visit the channel

Your experts belong here

Every story in MarketScale Energy starts with a company putting its field engineers, operations leads, and project developers on the record. Buyers are already reading this topic. The only question is whose experts they find.

Developers and operators shortlist on credibility, and your engineers give your sales team something real to send.

Book DemoSee how it works15 minutes, straight to a calendar.

About the author

Daniel Litwin
Daniel LitwinEditor, B2B Media, MarketScale

Daniel Litwin is a journalist of multiple disciplines focused on finding and telling engaging stories for B2B communities. He has interviewed executives from Fortune 500 companies including Honeywell, Microsoft, John Deere, and Chipotle, and leads editorial direction at MarketScale. Litwin hosts weekly shows and podcasts while helping develop new content approaches across the MarketScale platform. He holds a B.J. in Radio/Television Reporting/Anchoring and a B.A. in Spanish from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

B2B Weekly

The week in Energy, and sixteen other industries, every Monday.

Ten stories, one-line takes, five minutes. Free.

Energy: are you visible to AI?

Before they reach out, Energy buyers ask AI engines which vendors to trust. Explore how your experts, customers, and partners can become useful content for buyers and AI search.

Free Trial

You just read one Energy expert. Your company is full of them.

This article was produced through MarketScale. The same platform turns your field engineers, operations leads, and project developers into the articles, video, and social content Energy buyers are searching for. Start a free trial and see it with your own people. For qualifying companies, no credit card, no demo required.

NPS +73 · 1,000+ creators · 38+ countries

What your free trial includes

Hands-on access to the MarketScale platform
Media requests to your crowd, remote recording, AI writing tools
No demo required. No credit card.
For qualifying companies. Company confirmation required.

More Energy Insights

Finance first, batteries twice: what India's DISCOMs will discuss at DUM 2026

Finance first, batteries twice: what India's DISCOMs will discuss at DUM 2026

India Smart Grid Forum's 10th Distribution Utility Meet runs October 27-28, 2026 in Jaipur, with senior officials from 40+ power distribution companies expected. The first session covers distributor finances and capital market readiness. Two of the seven sessions name battery storage.

  • 01Two of DUM 2026's seven sessions name battery storage, and finance and capital-market readiness is listed first: India's distributors are putting the hardware and the money on the same two-day program.
  • 02ISGF’s event page records 688 participants and 45-plus DISCOMs at the 2025 Mumbai edition, a baseline suppliers can use when judging whether DUM reaches DISCOM decision-makers.

Oct 25, 2026

PurposeEnergy digester turns Danone's Ohio yogurt waste into biogas

PurposeEnergy digester turns Danone's Ohio yogurt waste into biogas

PurposeEnergy's digester is designed to turn up to 250,000 gallons a day of residuals and wastewater into biogas. The pipe from Danone's Minster plant itself saves an estimated 720 tons of CO2e yearly versus the previous off-site handling route.

  • 01PurposeEnergy's digester pipes biogas made from yogurt residuals to a dedicated boiler at Danone's adjacent Minster plant, the plant that produced the residuals.
  • 02Location does part of the work: swapping off-site handling for a direct pipe is estimated to avoid about 720 tons of CO2e a year, separate from the chemistry of digestion.

Oct 24, 2026

Communication drives 54% of customer satisfaction during power outages

Communication drives 54% of customer satisfaction during power outages

Communication accounts for 54% of outage-related satisfaction, per McKinsey. Useful updates draw on OMS restoration estimates and smart meters confirming which premises are out. Agents connected to those feeds can automate outage-specific messages across channels at storm scale, putting outage messaging on the grid-operations seam.

  • 01The facts that make an outage text useful already exist inside the utility; they just live in the OMS and the meters instead of the call center.
  • 02Before automating outage texts, ask whether the OMS restoration estimate is accurate enough, and refreshed fast enough, to send to every affected customer without a human checking it.

Oct 21, 2026

Explore More Energy Insights

Read more expert perspectives from across Energy.

Browse Energy Hub

About the Expert

Daniel Litwin
Daniel Litwin

Host, MarketScale

MarketScale

Daniel Litwin is the Voice of B2B at MarketScale, where he hosts and produces content across a range of industries including technology, energy, and food service. He conducts expert interviews and panel discussions that explore emerging trends and innovations shaping B2B markets. Litwin has hosted hundreds of episodes covering topics from industrial automation to digital transformation.

For B2B teams

Your experts could be publishing here

Stories like this one run on content MarketScale captures from real practitioners. See how your team's expertise becomes coverage in Energy and beyond.

Book a Demo

Or call us. No forms required. We pick up. 214-945-2512