McDonald’s is ending its two-year-old test of drive-thru, automated order taking (AOT) that it has conducted with IBM. The technology will be removed from the more than 100 restaurants that have been using it. The decision to end this test comes without any sort of expansion, according to an email sent to franchisees.
However, the company did not dismiss the prospect of drive-thru AI. McDonald’s plans to find a new partner for its automated order taking efforts. “While there have been successes to date, we feel there is an opportunity to explore voice ordering solutions more broadly,” Mason Smoot, chief restaurant officer for McDonald’s USA, said in the system message. The technology will be shut off in all restaurants currently testing it no later than July 26, 2024.
Smoot said the company will continue to evaluate its plans to make “an informed decision on a future voice ordering solution by the end of the year.” McDonald’s has been testing drive-thru voice AI since 2021. That test followed the company’s sale of its McD Tech Labs to IBM that year. The goal of the test was to determine if automated voice ordering could speed service and simplify operations.
IBM remains a “trusted partner and we will still utilize many of their products across our global system.” “As we move forward, our work with IBM has given us the confidence that a voice-ordering solution for drive-thru will be part of our restaurants’ future,” McDonald’s said. IBM is talking with other fast-food chains for the use of the technology.
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