Fast-food giants Taco Bell and McDonald's are overhauling their drive-thru AI strategies after embarrassing glitches and pranks, including a viral order of 18,000 cups of water. McDonald's dropped IBM for Google Cloud's voice models, while Taco Bell plans to let human workers take over during rush hours. Why it matters: Even after early setbacks, chains are doubling down on voice AI to relieve overworked staff.
McDonald's is rolling out a sweeping AI overhaul across its 43,000 restaurants worldwide. Powered by edge computing from Google Cloud, the system uses connected sensors for predictive kitchen maintenance—including its notoriously broken McFlurry machines—and smart drive-thrus to ease crew stress.
McDonald's just announced it is ending its automated drive-thru ordering test with IBM, removing the voice AI from over 100 locations by July 26, 2024. The chain isn't abandoning voice AI altogether, but plans to evaluate new partners by the end of the year.
McDonald's just announced a multi-year global partnership with Google Cloud to deploy edge computing and generative AI across thousands of restaurants worldwide. The chain will install Google Distributed Cloud hardware and software locally to power its mobile app and self-service kiosks. Why it matters: running AI right on-site helps keep kitchen and ordering systems fast and resilient without relying purely on remote servers.
TikTok creators are sharing hilarious and exasperating run-ins with McDonald's voice-ordering bots, showing the AI mistaking vanilla ice cream for butter packets and running up a $250 McNugget tab. Fast-food chains have chased automation to ease labor shortages, but the bot's stubborn confusion proves human drive-thru crews aren't getting replaced anytime soon.
