McDonald's is pulling the plug on a trial that deployed artificial intelligence to take orders from drive-thru customers, with the technology showing mixed results.
McDonald's told CBS MoneyWatch that it is ending its Automated Order Taker pilot, which used AI at drive-thrus to speed up orders. The fast-food giant, which launched the technology through a partnership with IBM in 2021, isn't ready to roll out voice ordering in its restaurants just yet. Some customers reported that the McDonald's chatbot sometimes got even simple orders wrong.
“The purpose of the test was to determine if an automated voice ordering solution could simplify operations for the crew and create a faster and improved experience for our fans,” a McDonald's spokesperson said in a statement to CBS MoneyWatch, though he added that he still sees “an opportunity to explore voice ordering solutions more broadly.”
McDonald's will continue to collaborate with IBM in other areas.
“As we move forward, our work with IBM has given us confidence that a voice ordering solution for drive-thru will be part of the future for our restaurants. We see a great opportunity to advance our restaurant technology and will continue to evaluating long-term, scalable solutions that will help us make an informed decision about a future voice ordering solution later this year,” McDonald's said.
Early stumbles
As of December, McDonald's had 27,000 drive-thru locations worldwide. It deployed AI technology to 100 locations in the United States. And as with any new technology, there were setbacks that amused, and sometimes frustrated, customers.
For example, in early 2023, TikTok user Ren Adams shared a video documenting his experience with McDonald's AI ordering system.
“This morning I tried to go to McDonald's and get my daily dose of caffeine and some breakfast. I was going to have a hash brown, sweet tea and a coke,” he said. “In this McDonald's, everything is robot. We're talking to a robot, there's no person on the speaker.”
The AI cashier mistakenly added nine sweet teas to Adams' order, she said in her TikTok video, noting that she later abandoned the order.
In another video, TikTok user Madilynn Cameron filmed herself at a McDonald's ordering water and vanilla ice cream. The AI bot that took her order inexplicably added two sides of butter and four packets of ketchup to the order, an image of Cameron's checkout screen shows.
“McDonald's, I'm done,” Cameron said in the video.
McDonald's did not comment on these incidents or any others where customers reported problems with its AI bot.
Other chains embracing AI
Other fast food chains, including Chipotle, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, are testing robots in their kitchens and at the cash registers to save on labor costs. Chipotle has opened at least 500 digital “Chipotlane” restaurants since 2018. It has also tested AI in kitchens with “Chippy,” a robotic kitchen assistant that can make tortilla chips.
Restaurants Taco Bell and Yum Brands-owned Pizza Hut are also making big bets on AI, their chief technology officer Joe Park told the Wall Street Journal in April. “A lot of this will be automated in the future, where you don't have to interface directly with the technology,” he told the WSJ. “You can do it through generative AI.”
