Business Case Studies & Business Publications

Building AI Capabilities: Yum! Brands

Venkatesan, Rajkum...

Case

Building AI Capabilities: Yum! Brands

Venkatesan, Rajkumar; Klopfenstein, Amy

M-1068 | Published June 11, 2025 | 3 Pages Case

Collection: Darden School of Business

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This is the first in a series of three short cases that profile how companies built their AI capabilities ("Building AI Capabilities: Yum! Brands," UVA-M-1068; "Building AI Capabilities: Flipkart," UVA-M-1069; and "Building AI Capabilities: CFA Institute," UVA-M-1070). This public-sourced case focuses on Yum! Brands (Yum), the parent company of fast-food franchises Kentucky Fried Chicken, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut. Yum’s AI journey began with its 2015 acquisition of Collider Lab, a consultancy that provided insights into consumer behavior. In 2021, Yum acquired additional companies to deepen its AI and performance marketing capabilities, and over the next few years, it began implementing the acquired AI technologies in select franchises. The case concludes by highlighting Yum’s plans to implement customer-facing AI tools, including personalized marketing text messages and AI-driven voice ordering at its restaurants.