In the three years since McDonald’s announced its partnership with IBM to develop an A.I.-powered drive-through order taker, videos surfaced showing comical inaccuracies in customer orders. These mishaps, including massive quantities of McNuggets and erroneous items added to orders, led McDonald’s to end its partnership with IBM and shut down A.I. tests at over 100 U.S. drive-throughs. Despite this, competitors like Wendy’s, Carl’s Jr., and Taco John’s have found success with A.I. ordering systems, streamlining the ordering process and reducing wait times for customers during peak hours.
While McDonald’s has abandoned its A.I. drive-through initiative, it confirmed its intention to return to the technology in the future, exploring other vendors for voice-ordering solutions. IBM stated that it continues to work with McDonald’s and other restaurants interested in A.I.-driven automated order technology. However, experts and researchers in the industry have expressed skepticism about the current capabilities of voice A.I., highlighting the need for human oversight and the potentially higher cost compared to using the mobile app for orders.
McDonald’s has not completely forsaken A.I. investments, having announced a partnership with Google Cloud in December 2023. The company is exploring different applications for A.I., possibly beyond drive-through ordering. While competitors push ahead with A.I. technology, McDonald’s may take a more cautious approach, waiting to ensure the technology is ready for commercial use. Other potential applications of A.I. in the company’s operations, such as employee assistance or backend operations, are also being considered.
Presto, an A.I. firm for restaurants, highlighted the success of A.I. drive-through technologies in early testing stages, with high accuracy rates in processing orders. Wendy’s reported that A.I. drive-throughs operate without human help on 86% of orders, while Presto has achieved a roughly 90% success rate with its clients. McDonald’s is thought to have struggled with the use of natural language understanding in their A.I. system, which may have hindered its adaptability to changing customer orders in real-time.
As companies continue to refine their A.I. drive-through systems, the landscape of fast-food ordering is evolving, with the potential for increased convenience and efficiency. Voice A.I. technology is also being explored in other industries, such as automotive, with the integration of voice assistants in vehicles for enhanced convenience. Despite challenges faced by McDonald’s in its A.I. drive-through initiative, the future of A.I. technology in the fast-food industry remains promising, with ongoing advancements and partnerships driving innovation.
