McDonald’s is reportedly ending its trial of automated drive-thru order-takers powered by artificial intelligence at more than 100 restaurants after angry customers reported receiving items they didn’t order.
The gaffes included adding nine extra cups of sweet tea to one customer’s order and giving another an ice cream cone topped with bacon.
The Chicago-based fast-food chain and IBM collaborated on a pilot program with some franchisees two years ago.
But the company notified franchisees in an email on Thursday that the program would end on July 26, but said it would likely resume using AI at drive-thru windows in the future. According to Restaurant Business.
“While we have seen some success to date, we feel there is an opportunity to explore voice ordering solutions more broadly,” Mason Smoot, McDonald’s U.S. chief restaurant officer, told franchisees in an email obtained by Restaurant Business.
“After careful consideration, McDonald’s has decided to end its current partnership with IBM regarding AOT and will stop testing the technology in all restaurants by July 26, 2024.”
Smoot added that McDonald’s will continue to evaluate its plans and will “make an informed decision about our future voice ordering solution by the end of the year.”
In February, a TikTok user known as “Ren” posted a video testimony describing how crosstalk from a nearby drive-thru station caused McDonald’s AI to add nine sweet teas to her bill instead of a hash brown, a sweet tea, and a coke.
Another TikTok user, Madilyn Cameron, posted a video showing her “wrestling with the McDonald’s robot” after going through a drive-thru, ordering vanilla ice cream without the caramel, and receiving a bag of cream instead.
“I just want a large glass of water and ice cream,” she said in a November 2022 video.
“Where did the butter come from?”
In January, Kaylin Sikora posted a TikTok showing an AI-powered drive-thru adding more than 20 orders of McNuggets bundles worth about $222.
“McDonald’s robots are wild,” the caption for the TikTok video reads.
McDonald’s’ adoption of AI dates back to 2019, when it acquired Apprente, a startup that introduced an AI-based voice solution for use in customer service situations.
The acquisition of Apprente is aimed at ultimately bringing AI-powered technology to restaurant drive-thrus to improve the speed and efficiency of order-taking.
McDonald’s later folded Apprente into its AI-focused division, McD Tech Labs, which was sold to IBM in 2021.
As part of the deal, IBM is partnering with McDonald’s to expand its rollout of AI-powered automated order-taking services.
McDonald’s told Restaurant Business the purpose of the pilot program is to test whether new technology can speed up the drive-thru ordering process.
The company said IBM remains a “trusted partner and we will continue to use many of their products across our global systems.”
“Looking forward, our collaboration with IBM gives us confidence that drive-thru voice ordering solutions will be part of the future of our restaurants,” McDonald’s said.
“We see great opportunities in advancing restaurant technology and will continue to evaluate long-term, scalable solutions that will help us make an informed decision about our future voice ordering solution by the end of the year.”
An IBM spokesperson told the magazine that the company is in talks with other fast-food companies about using its AI-powered technology.
“IBM has collaborated with McDonald’s to develop automated order-taking technology to support emerging uses of voice-activated AI in restaurant drive-thrus,” the company said in a statement.
“The technology has the most comprehensive capabilities in the industry and is proven to be fast and accurate in the most demanding conditions.
“While McDonald’s reevaluates and refines its plans for AOT, we look forward to continuing to work with them on a variety of other projects,” IBM said in a statement.
The Washington Post has reached out to McDonald’s and IBM for comment.
Other fast-food chains are also adopting AI technology to streamline the customer service experience.
Companies like Checkers & Rally’s, Hardee’s, Carl’s Jr., Krystal, Wendy’s, Dunkin’ Donuts and Taco John’s are all either testing AI technology in their drive-thrus or have implemented it completely and permanently.
Domino’s Pizza uses AI voice recognition for taking orders and machine learning algorithms to optimize delivery routes and times.
Starbucks is using AI to provide tailored recommendations to customers through its app.
KFC has begun deploying AI software in facial recognition technology in certain locations in China to predict customer orders.
