McDonald's Utilizes Artificial Intelligence to Process Orders
Fast Food giant McDonald's might soon ditch human workers at its drive-thrus, opting for AI instead. The fast food chain has seen promising results from tests at over a hundred U.S. locations, as per industry publication "Restaurant Business." But don't get too excited, they're not quite ditching humans just yet.
McDonald's seems pretty keen on integrating AI for taking orders in the near future. Although the test phase is wrapping up, a representative from the company has hinted at a bright future for this technology in their restaurants.
The company believes that AI could revolutionize drive-thru orders, stating, "a solution for speech orders in the Drive-thru is part of the future of our restaurants," according to their statement to "Restaurant Business." They are currently testing various AI options, and plan to make a decision on the best technical solution by year-end.
AI-powered software has become pretty decent at holding conversations. Given the limited range of words involved in food orders, speech recognition could prove to be a viable option. And with advanced generative AI, like that used in ChatGPT, forming human-like sentences, it's only a matter of time before they're answering your drive-thru orders.
Google seems to have hopped on the bandwagon too, as McDonald's struck a deal with them in December over the use of generative AI. Other fast-food competitors, like Wendy's and Carl's Jr., are also experimenting with automated spoken orders. However, it's yet to be seen how quickly these solutions will expand beyond the U.S., as AI software is usually developed for the English language first.
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McDonald's is collaborating with tech giant IBM to enhance its AI capabilities in drive-thrus. With IBM's expertise in AI, McDonald's hopes to further optimize their order processing system, potentially expanding this technology beyond the USA's drive-thrus into the realm of international gastronomy.
IBM's artificial intelligence solutions could also aid in enhancing McDonald's gastronomy, perhaps by suggesting new menu items based on consumer preferences or preferences from other successful McDonald's locations worldwide.
