McDonald's is ending its AI experiment for drive-through orders after a two-year trial in more than 100 restaurants. The fast-food giant, which launched the automated order taking (AOT) in partnership with IBM, will shut it down on July 26, 2024. The goal was to speed up drive-through service and streamline operations. Despite the setback, McDonald's still believes in the potential of voice recognition for food ordering. The company plans to find a new partner for more extensive research by the end of the year. IBM says it is also in talks with other fast-food chains. It appears that the two companies are not parting on good terms with this project.

Ad
Support our independent, free-access reporting. Any contribution helps and secures our future. Support now:
Bank transfer
Online journalist Matthias is the co-founder and publisher of THE DECODER. He believes that artificial intelligence will fundamentally change the relationship between humans and computers.
Join our community
Join the DECODER community on Discord, Reddit or Twitter - we can't wait to meet you.