In Shanghai’s southeastern district of Xujiahui, Colonel Sanders’s smiling visage looms over the restaurant entrance, as it does at thousands of KFC locations around the globe. But step inside, and it quickly becomes clear that this is no ordinary KFC. Customers line up before a row of touchscreen kiosks, keying in orders while a camera scans their faces to process payment in less than a second. Downstairs, a robot arm whirs to life to prepare an ice cream cone. Diners can choose the joint’s background music via app and listen to a favorite tune while they eat.
So far only a few hundred KFC locations have been similarly tricked out. But Yum China Holdings Inc. says 86 percent of transactions are already cashless and about half of orders are placed via mobile app or digital kiosk at its more than 8,400 KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell restaurants. The next step is to harvest data from the more than 180 million Chinese who belong to KFC and Pizza Hut loyalty programs and use artificial intelligence to customize a menu for each diner based on preferences and local tastes. Yum says the AI-powered menu, introduced in January, has already boosted average per-order spending by 1 percent—the equivalent of about $840 million worth of fried chicken and pan pizzas each year.
China’s biggest fast-food operation, Yum is seeking to maintain its dominance amid intensifying competition from a newly assertive McDonald’s Corp. (under Chinese management since 2017) and smaller U.S. chains such as White Castle and Shake Shack, as well as local fast-food operations looking to undercut the incumbents on price. Yum accelerated its expansion last year to two stores a day—the company says it will have 10,000 by 2021. It’s betting the AI-powered menu and increasing automation will help cut costs, boost sales, and outsmart rivals. “We need to stay ahead of the clear trend in digital development,” Chief Executive Officer Joey Wat says. “That’s the future.”
When Yum China was spun off from parent Yum! Brands Inc. in 2016, the rationale was simple: Executives sitting in Louisville couldn’t possibly keep up with all the developments in China, where consumers are uncommonly tech-savvy and ready to try new things. In big urban centers, shopping is increasingly cashless, convenience stores are unmanned, and everything from forks to furniture can be delivered within hours. For most Chinese, such convenience has so far trumped privacy concerns, so companies such as Yum are able to collect customer data with relative impunity.
在上海东南部的徐家汇区，桑德斯上校的笑面隐约出现在餐厅入口——与全球数千家肯德基餐厅一样。但进门后很快就可以看出，这不是普通的肯德基。顾客们在一排触摸屏售货亭前排队，输入订单，摄像机面部扫描后不到一秒钟的时间内就付完款。楼下，一个机器人手臂呜呜作响地准备着一个冰淇淋甜筒。用餐者可以通过应用程序选择餐厅背景乐，在吃饭时听最喜欢的曲调。
目前为止，只有几百家肯德基门店有类似的设置。但百胜中国控股有限公司表示，86%的交易早已不用现金，在其超过8400家肯德基、必胜客、塔可钟餐厅中，大约一半的订单是通过手机应用或数字售货亭下单的。下一步是从超1.8亿肯德基和必胜客忠诚度计划的顾客中获取数据，利用人工智能根据偏好和当地口味为每个用餐者定制菜单。百胜说今年一月推出的人工智能菜单已经将平均每笔订单支出提高了1%——相当于每年价值8.4亿美元的炸鸡和披萨。
作为中国最大的快餐运营商，百胜正在寻求保持其主导地位，因为与对手金拱门公司（2017年以来由中国管理）和美国小连锁企业如白色城堡迷你汉堡（美国汉堡连锁鼻祖）和Shake Shake（纽约汉堡品牌）的竞争日益激烈，且本土快餐运营商希望通过低价削弱目前领先者（指百胜）竞争力。百胜集团去年加快了扩张速度——该公司表示，到2021年将拥有1万家门店。它认为人工智能菜单和不断提高的自动化水准有助于降低成本、提高销量并超越竞争对手。首席执行官Joey Wat说，“我们需要保持走在数字发展前列，这就是未来。”
百胜中国2016年从母公司百胜分离出来的理由很简单：坐在路易斯维尔的高管不可能跟上中国的所有发展。在中国，消费者非常精通技术，随时准备尝试新事物。在大城市中心，购物先进适用越来越少，便利店采取无人售卖，小到叉子大到家居都可以在几小时内交付。对于大多中国人来说，这些便利已经让隐私“不再是”隐私，因此百胜等公司能够相对不受惩罚地收集客户数
loom 隐约出现
kiosk 售货亭
trick out 打扮，装饰
artificial intelligence 人工智能，简称AI
equivalent 相等的，相当的
assertive 观点明确的，坚决主张的
incumbent 在职者
accelerate 加快，加速
uncommonly 不同寻常的
tech-savvy 懂技术的
impunity 不受惩罚的（原型punish v.处罚，名词形式punishment，impunity中im-前缀表否定）
China’s biggest fast-food operation, Yum is seeking to maintain its dominance amid intensifying competition from a newly assertive McDonald’s Corp. (under Chinese management since 2017) and smaller U.S. chains such as White Castle and Shake Shack, as well as local fast-food operations looking to undercut the incumbents on price. 句子开头省略了as，“As China’s biggest fast-food operation, Yum is…”；主句“Yum is seeking to maintain its dominance.” ；金拱门和美国小型连锁企业对百胜有威胁，后接as well as 连接的并列句，竞争同样来自本土低价快餐企业。
塔可钟（Taco Bell）是世界上规模最大的提供墨西哥式食品的连锁餐饮品牌，隶属于百胜全球餐饮集团。塔可钟在美国的50个州有超过7000家的连锁餐厅，并在世界其它国家和地区也有长足的发展。除美国外，目前塔可钟有超过250家餐厅在加拿大、关岛、智利、波多黎各、澳大利亚和新加坡等地。在美国，塔可钟目前有10万多名员工。塔可钟由格兰.贝尔（Glen Bell）于1962年3月创办，第一家塔可钟餐厅建立于加利福尼亚州的东尼市（Downey），从此塔可钟从一家不知名的小店逐渐发展成为美国最受欢迎的墨西哥餐饮连锁品牌。塔可钟的各家餐厅每周为全球超过5500万名顾客提供服务，平均每周有1.45亿人会看到一次塔可钟的电视广告，这个数字超过美国人口的一半。1978年塔可钟由百事可乐公司收购。1997年10月，百胜公司旗下的肯德基、必胜客和塔可钟三个餐饮品牌正式组成了百盛全球餐饮集团，并独立上市。
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