McDonald’s has decided to stop testing the use of artificial intelligence to take drive-thru orders, at least for now.McDonald’s partnered with IBM to start testing an AI chatbot at its drive-thrus in 2021. The tech has been in testing at over 100 restaurants since then.Now the company plans to remove the AI tech from those stores, with a plan to have it completely removed from stores by the end of next month.The company has opted to end its partnership with IBM for the tech but a representative said that the company thinks there is an opportunity to “explore voice ordering solutions more broadly.”“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,” McDonald’s said in a statement to the trade publication Restaurant Business. “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.”
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While the technology won’t be used in McDonald’s stores for the time being, IBM says it’s in talks with other restaurant chains to potentially bring its AI to their drive-thru windows.Even though McDonald’s is removing the tech that doesn’t mean you won’t have a computer ask if you want fries with that. AI is already being tested or used at the drive-thru window at Hardee’s Krystal, Wendy’s Dunkin’, and many other restaurants.
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