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McDonald’s is discontinuing its trial of artificial intelligence (AI) ordering technology in over 100 drive-thru systems across the U.S., potentially slowing down the fast food industry’s adoption of AI.
The company had collaborated with IBM to develop and test AI-driven, voice-automated ordering at select locations. Despite this setback, McDonald’s remains committed to exploring AI solutions as competitors are making similar strides.
According to Restaurant Business, McDonald’s plans to cease using this technology in the participating restaurants by July 26, 2024.
“IBM remains a trusted partner, and we will continue to use many of their products globally,” McDonald’s stated in an email to franchisees, shared with CNN. However, the company hinted at exploring AI partnerships beyond IBM.
The McDonald’s-IBM partnership began in 2021, aiming to develop Automated Order Taking (AOT) technology to streamline the ordering process as part of McDonald’s “Accelerating the Arches” growth strategy.
IBM praised the AOT technology for its industry-leading capabilities, noting its speed and accuracy even in challenging conditions.
“While McDonald’s re-evaluates its AOT plans, we look forward to collaborating on other projects,” IBM said in a statement.
McDonald’s emphasized that this does not mark the end of its AI initiatives. The company intends to “evaluate long-term, scalable solutions” for voice-ordering by the end of 2024.
David Henkes, senior principal at Technomic, noted, “AI will undoubtedly play a role in restaurant automation and efficiencies moving forward, but the technology is still in its early stages. The McDonald’s experience underscores both the potential benefits and current limitations of AI.”
Other fast-food chains are also experimenting with AI. White Castle tested an automated drive-thru ordering system in 2021, and Wendy’s expanded its partnership with Google Cloud to launch its AI ordering tool in May last year.
Despite the enthusiasm for AI-powered solutions, the technology has encountered challenges. Some customers have reported incorrect orders due to the AI’s difficulty in recognizing certain accents and differentiating voices from background noise.
