Chipotle tests avocado-peeling robot called ‘Autocado’

The next time you order a burrito bowl or an extra helping of guacamole from Chipotle (CMG), there’s a chance a robot made it. The restaurant chain announced today (Sept. 16) that it will test two new “cobots,” or collaborative robots, at select locations in California. “These cobot devices can help us build a stronger operational engine that delivers great experiences for our team members and guests while maintaining Chipotle’s high culinary standards,” Curt Garner, Chipotle’s chief customer and technology officer, said in a statement. “Autocado,” a product that slices, pits and peels avocados before they’re mashed by hand by Chipotle employees, will be tested at Chipotle’s Huntington Beach, Calif. location, while the restaurant’s “extended production line,” a burrito bowl assembly system, will be rolled out at a location in Corona del Mar, Calif. Feedback from restaurant employees and customers will help inform future robot pilot plans, Garner added.

The implementation of the “autocado” will hopefully give Chipotle employees more time to focus on other tasks, the restaurant said. The device takes about 26 seconds to “fully squeeze the fruit” from an avocado, according to Chipotle, which is expected to use about 5.18 million cases of avocados this year at its locations in the U.S., Canada and Europe.

Meanwhile, the expanded production line makes bowls and salads — which make up 65 percent of Chipotle’s digital orders — and is intended to free up crew members to focus on making other products. Brian Niccol, Chipotle’s outgoing CEO, initially hinted at the future inclusion of the devices during the company’s first-quarter earnings call in April, where he noted that “we’re excited to bring both to restaurants later this year as part of our gate process.”

Both technologies were previously tested at Chipotle’s Cultivate Center in Irvine, California, where the burrito maker experiments with new technologies, recipes and products. Chipotle co-developed the avocado masher and the automated digital production line with Vebu and Hyphen, respectively, two tech companies the chain has invested in through its $100 million Cultivate Next venture fund.

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When it comes to innovative technology, Chipotle says it has learned from its mistakes. It previously tested another autonomous robotic assistant known as “Chippy” that helped cook and season tortilla chips. The device, which was briefly tested at another California Chipotle location in 2022, was then canceled after it “became too cumbersome for the team to clean,” Niccol told Yahoo Finance in March. Chipotle’s lessons from Chippy have been applied to subsequent cobots, including the “autocado,” he said, with the chain realizing that cleaning challenges needed to be considered “much earlier in the design.”

Chipotle isn’t the only restaurant experimenting with robotics and automation to boost productivity. Rival Sweetgreen also has ambitious plans in this space, acquiring robotics company Spyce in 2021 and rolling out its Infinite Kitchen technology, an automated salad bar, to two restaurants in Illinois and California. The salad maker reportedly plans to open seven more restaurants this year with the system, which it says accounts for 70 percent of salad bowl assembly.

More than 31 percent of U.S. restaurants have begun to adopt more technology and automation as a result of staffing shortages, according to a 2024 industry survey by the National Restaurant Association. Nearly half of restaurant operators said such techniques will become more common, while another 69 percent believe this technology integration will complement, not replace, human work.