Business

McDonald's Tests AI-Controlled Order Taking at Drive-Thru

McDonald’s tests new solution for drive-thru: Voice orders will no longer be taken by employees in the future.

Eulerpool News Jun 18, 2024, 9:11 AM

Here's the translation of the heading into English:

"McDonald's plans to have drive-thru orders taken by Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the future. The fast-food chain already uses automated systems for orders in many locations and now intends to implement this technology at the drive-thru as well.

A test run at over 100 US locations, conducted jointly with the computer company IBM, is being concluded after about two years, as the trade publication "Restaurant Business" reported over the weekend. However, this step is not the end of the efforts, according to McDonald's. The company is convinced, based on the test experiences, that voice ordering in the drive-thru will be a part of the future of restaurants. McDonald's aims to determine a technical solution by the end of the year.

The use of AI in order acceptance offers significant advantages, as modern speech recognition software is increasingly better at conducting conversations with humans. This technology is especially suitable in restaurants, where a limited vocabulary suffices. Generative AI, as used in the ChatGPT chatbot, can also formulate human-like sentences.

However, the use of AI also entails profound changes for employees.

McDonald's experiments with new technology not only in the drive-thru. In December, the company entered into a partnership with Google aimed at the use of generative AI. However, the details of this collaboration are still unclear.

Other US fast food chains like Wendy's and Carl's Jr. are testing the automated acceptance of spoken orders. It remains unclear how quickly such solutions can be introduced outside the US, as AI software is usually developed for English first.

The test run for AI order-taking demonstrates McDonald's commitment to driving technological innovation and improving the customer experience. The decision to find a final solution by the end of the year underscores the company's determination to stay at the forefront of technology and enhance efficiency in its restaurants.

While the exact implementation and global rollout are yet to be seen, this step represents a significant advancement in the automation and digitalization of the fast-food industry. The impact on the workforce and the adaptation to the labor market situation will be crucial factors to monitor.

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