The fast food giant, which had been testing voice-automated ordering systems at around 100 restaurant drive-thrus since 2021, is now booting it from the menu. It seems to be because AI, at least when it comes to taking orders as people shout them from their car windows, turns out not to be a very good listener.
The systems' miscalculations have led to some highly amusing viral videos with absurdly incorrect orders -like a handful of butter, hundreds of chicken nuggets, and ice cream loaded with bacon.
"After a thoughtful review, McDonald's has decided to end our current partnership with IBM on AOT and the technology will be shut off in all restaurants currently testing it no later than July 26, 2024," Mason Smoot, chief restaurant officer for McDonald's USA, said in an email obtained by Restaurant Business.
"While there have been successes to date, we feel there is an opportunity to explore voice ordering solutions more broadly," Smoot explained.
Collection
[
|
...
]