Guzman y Gomez launches Apple CarPlay ordering in Australia

Guzman y Gomez has launched ordering through Apple CarPlay in Australia, becoming the first quick-service restaurant brand in the country to offer the feature.

Drivers can use the GYG app on their CarPlay screen to find a nearby restaurant, select a favourite or recent order, pay with a saved card, and track the order on screen. The option is designed for collection at the drive-through or counter without handling a phone during the transaction.

The launch extends the company's digital ordering system into vehicles as competition among restaurant groups increasingly centres on convenience, loyalty integration, and direct ordering channels. CarPlay orders will also earn GOMEX loyalty points, with favourites and payment details carried over from the existing app.

Bryce Maybury, Chief Technology Officer at Guzman y Gomez, said: "Our guests are loyal. They know their order, they trust the food, and they just want it fast. CarPlay means they can get their GYG fix without even picking up their phone. Their favourites, their GOMEX points, their saved payments - it's all there. We're on a mission to reinvent fast food and change the way the masses eat, and that means making it as easy as possible to get great food, how and where you want it. That's what we build technology for."

In-house systems

The CarPlay launch sits within a broader in-house technology programme led by a 40-person internal team. The group has been building software for restaurant operations, ordering, and food preparation across the chain's Australian business.

At the centre is an internally built order management system, now rolled out across more than 240 Australian restaurants. It coordinates orders from different channels and gives restaurant managers signals on when to open additional production lines during expected peaks in demand.

The system also gives kitchen teams a live view of what needs to be prepared and when, aiming to reduce the time staff spend managing order flow. That allows crew to focus more directly on preparing food.

Beyond order routing, the business is trialling an agentic artificial intelligence platform with voice functions to help staff access information and run restaurants in real time. It is also evaluating vision AI and robotic weighing systems to monitor order accuracy during preparation.

For food safety, Bluetooth-connected thermometer probes are being used across the network to record chicken temperature checks digitally. Together, these projects point to a strategy that extends beyond customer-facing apps into back-of-house operations.

Loyalty push

Alongside CarPlay ordering, Guzman y Gomez is introducing a GOMEX Wallet pass for Apple Wallet. The pass gives customers access to their loyalty card without opening the app, while points balances, GYG Dollars, and personalised offers update in real time.

The loyalty card is also available in other digital wallets, giving the company another way to keep customers within its own ordering and rewards system rather than relying solely on third-party delivery platforms.

Restaurant chains globally have invested heavily in apps, loyalty schemes, and automation to increase visit frequency and improve store throughput. In Australia, however, direct food ordering through Apple CarPlay remains rare, making this a notable early move in the local market.

The CarPlay interface uses data already held in the app, including saved payment details and previous orders, reducing the number of steps needed to complete a purchase. Users must connect an iPhone to a CarPlay-enabled vehicle, open the GYG app from the dashboard screen, choose a restaurant, select an order, and pay with a stored card.

Guzman y Gomez positioned the feature as part of a broader effort to remove friction from repeat purchases, particularly for customers travelling between work, school, and home. That places the initiative alongside drive-through optimisation and mobile order-ahead systems, where speed and familiarity can influence whether a customer completes a purchase.

While the customer-facing addition is likely to draw attention, the company's larger investment appears to be in the software layer linking ordering, kitchen workflow, and restaurant decision-making. For chains operating high-volume, multi-channel service, those systems can determine whether digital demand translates into faster service or added complexity in store.

For Guzman y Gomez, the latest launch is a visible example of that approach: a dashboard ordering tool built on systems already used in restaurants nationwide.