Presto Automation on Tuesday announced it is testing a version of its drive-thru artificial intelligence voice product that doesn’t rely on contracted workers to monitor the ordering-taking process. The technology, which Presto is calling Presto Voice with Pure AI, uses the company’s artificial intelligence tool to take orders and only defaults to a restaurant worker’s intervention when the program detects that it is unable to complete an order.

“The new technology is autonomous, without humans-in-the-loop (HITL) who could intervene early in the order process before the AI has a chance to complete the order,” the company said in its press release. Humans-in-the-loop is a common term used by AI firms in reference to labor performed by contracted workers, often employed in labor markets like the Philippines — where Presto contracted its oversight workers.

In February, Presto reported that even the most advanced version of its voice automation tech required human intervention at least 70% of the time. Presto did not respond to a request to clarify how it improved the autonomy of its tech to make its claim of no humans-in-the-loop possible. 

The company is “in the process of conducting a live test” of the tech, and has plans to “expand the new Voice AI technology at a shorter ramp-up period, with a number of customer locations that have already agreed,” if the test is successful.

The deployment of an autonomous system, which Presto claims would deliver benefits including faster speed of service and higher guest satisfaction, could be a major moment for the embattled tech firm. In the same 10-Q where it revealed it was losing contracts for its tablet business, which accounted for nearly 90% of its revenue, the company said it was focusing on its Voice product as its future. This development followed a layoff of 17% of the company’s workforce in November, and preceded a layoff of another 18% in March.