McDonald's has decided to end its AI powered automated drive-thru experimentation that has been going on at more than 100 locations after angry customers reported receiving items they didn't order. People reported receiving items such as nine sweet teas and an ice cream cone topped with bacon.
The fast food chain initially partnered with IBM on the pilot program two years ago, and installed the system at certain franchises across the US. But the company informed via email that the program will end on July 26, 2024.
According to Restaurant Business, the company says it will likely reintroduce the use of AI at its drive-thru windows at some point in the future. "While there have been successes to date, we feel there is an opportunity to explore voice ordering solutions more broadly," Mason Smoot, chief restaurant officer for McDonald’s USA, told franchisees via the email.
"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," he continued. He added that McDonald’s will continue to evaluate its plans to make "an informed decision on a future voice ordering solution by the end of the year."
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Earlier in 2024, a TikToker known as "Ren" posted a video describing a McDonald’s AI added nine orders of sweet tea to her bill when she'd only ordered a hash brown, sweet tea, and Coke. Another TikToker named Madilynn Cameron shared a clip of her "fighting with a McDonald’s robot" that added cream packets to her vanilla ice cream when she only asked for it without caramel.
In a January TikTok, Cailyn Sykora detailed her experience of using an AI-powered McDonald's drive thru that added over 20 orders of a McNuggets Meal, bringing her total up to $222. "The McDonald's robot is wild," the caption read.
IBM will still be a "trusted partner and we will still utilize many of their products across our global system," the company says. "As we move forward, our work with IBM has given us the confidence that a voice-ordering solution for drive-thru will be part of our restaurants' future."
"We see tremendous opportunity in advancing our restaurant technology and will continue to evaluate long-term, scalable solutions that will help us make an informed decision on a future voice ordering solution by the end of the year," McDonald's added. A spokesperson for IBM also noted that it is negotiating with other fast food companies about implementing its AI-powered technology.
"IBM developed automated order taker technologies with McDonald's to support the emerging use of voice-activated AI in restaurant drive-thrus," the statement read. "This technology is proven to have some of the most comprehensive capabilities in the industry, fast and accurate in some of the most demanding conditions."
McDonald’s told Restaurant Business that the goal of the AI program was to test whether the new technology could speed up the drive-thru ordering process. IBM added that "while McDonald's is reevaluating and refining its plans for AOT, we look forward to continuing to work with them on a variety of other projects."
