McDonald’s removes drive-thru operations using AI after order errors occur

McDonald’s is removing its AI-powered ordering technology from its US restaurants, after customers shared its comical mishaps online.

A trial of the system, developed by IBM and using voice recognition software to process orders, was announced in 2019.

However, it has not proven entirely reliable, leading to viral videos of bizarre, misinterpreted orders ranging from bacon-topped ice cream to chicken nuggets worth hundreds of dollars.

“After thoughtful review, McDonald’s has decided to end our current global partnership with IBM on AOT [Automated Order Taking] The restaurant chain said in a statement after this year.

However, she added that she remains confident that technology will remain “part of the future of her restaurants.”

“We will continue to evaluate long-term, scalable solutions that will help us make an informed decision on our future voice ordering solution by the end of the year,” the statement said.

The technology was controversial from the beginning, although concerns initially centered on its potential to make people’s jobs obsolete.

However, it has become clear that replacing human restaurant workers may not be as easy as people initially feared — and as the system’s supporters had hoped.

Mishaps committed by recipients of AI orders have been documented online.

In one video, which has racked up 30,000 views on TikTok, a young woman becomes increasingly angry as she tries to convince an AI that she wants caramel ice cream, only for it to add several mounds of butter to her order.

In another case, which received 360,000 views, a person claims her order was confused with an order placed by someone else, resulting in nine tea orders being added to her bill.

IBM said it will continue to work with McDonald’s in the future.

“This technology has been proven to have some of the most comprehensive capabilities in the industry, and is fast and accurate in some of the most demanding conditions,” she said in a statement.

“As McDonald’s reevaluates and refines its plans for AOT, we look forward to continuing to work with them on a variety of other projects.”