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McDonald’s will stop using AI chatbots to take customer orders at drive-thrus, having tested the technology at over 100 locations across the US.
The fast-food giant introduced the systems as a test in 2021, partnering with IBM to roll out the chatbots.
At stores using the tech, customers spoke to an AI – rather than a human voice – while ordering their meals.
McDonald’s has not specified exactly why it is ending the test but said in a statement to Restaurant Business that it is confident a “voice-ordering solution for drive-thru will be part of our restaurants’ future.”
The technology will be shut off by July 26 at the latest.
Customers have been critical of the AI chatbot, with mistakes in orders going viral on social media over the past 24 months.
Some frustrated customers took to TikTok, with one user posting about her attempt to buy one sweet tea resulting in nine being added to her order. Another couldn’t control her laughter as the bot erroneously added over $250 of McNugget meals.
In other cases, the bot has failed to correct mistakes and the customer has been passed on to a human staff member.
Can AI replace fast food workers?
The move may cool the jets of the fast-food industry, which has been eager to replace workers by introducing AI into systems and processes.
Joe Park, the Chief Digital and Technology Officer at Yum Brands, the owner of KFC and Taco Bell, for example, announced his vision for “AI-powered” fast food stores. This includes AI-enabled ordering alongside app-based chatbots to handle customer queries and even image processing technology to determine waiting times.
Other companies including Wendy’s and Del Taco also use AI technology at their drive-thrus.
Such restaurants see AI chatbots as a viable alternative to human labor, particularly in locations such as California where restaurant industry minimum wage hikes are prompting businesses to pursue cost-cutting measures.
An owner of 180 stores including Burger Kings, Popeyes, and Taco Bell told the LA Times earlier in May that he is testing AI technology at drive-thrus in the hope of offsetting high labor costs.
While McDonald’s plans to consider new ways to introduce voice ordering solutions that may well lean heavily on AI automation rather than human workers, it seems from the termination of the IBM partnership that there are major teething problems.
In 2023, Rob Carpenter, Founder of Valyant AI – the company behind a drive-thru AI product called ‘Holly’ – predicted that AI has the potential to replace millions of fast-food worker jobs in the near future.
"Within five to 10 years, I think the majority of positions within restaurants can be automated,” he told Fox News.
Some restaurants are considering ways in which AI could augment, rather than place, workers. Kernel, a New York-based Vegan Fast Food restaurant, for example, operates an AI-powered robotic arm that physically moves food along the assembly line.
“Team members are enjoying the experience, and automation is creating a better working environment for them and not a worse one,” said Stephen Goldstein, President of Kernel, speaking to Fortune.
