McDonald's abandons AI-driven voice ordering at over 100 US drive-thrus due to inaccuracies.
McDonald's evaluating long-term, scalable solutions for voice ordering by end of 2024.
Partnership between McDonald's and IBM for AI ordering technology resulted in incorrect orders for customers.
In a significant development in the fast-food industry, McDonald's has decided to discontinue the use of AI ordering technology at over 100 drive-thrus in the US, effective no later than July 26, 2024. The company had partnered with IBM to develop and test AI-driven, voice-automated ordering at some of its restaurants. However, McDonald's plans to evaluate long-term, scalable solutions for voice-ordering by the end of 2024. This move comes after customers reported issues such as incorrect orders for hundreds of dollars of chicken McNuggets and ice cream cones topped with bacon.
The AI technology, known as Automated Order Taking (AOT), was developed through a partnership between McDonald's and IBM. Despite the setback, McDonald's has not abandoned its plans for AI-powered solutions in its restaurants entirely. In a statement, the company said that it sees tremendous opportunity in advancing restaurant technology and will continue to evaluate long-term, scalable solutions that will help it make an informed decision on a future voice ordering solution by the end of the year.
IBM did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment. The incident raises questions about the readiness of AI to handle certain everyday human tasks.
McDonald's is ending its test run of AI drive-through technology partnership with IBM in more than 100 restaurants.
McDonald's sold McD Labs technology, formerly known as Apprente, to IBM in 2021.
Accuracy
McDonald's plans to continue evaluating voice ordering solutions for the future.
McDonald's had been working with IBM to develop and test AI-driven voice-automated ordering systems.
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The article contains an appeal to authority when it states 'Two sources familiar with the technology told CNBC that among its challenges, it had issues interpreting different accents and dialects, which affected order accuracy.' This statement implies that the sources are experts on the technology and their opinions are valid. However, their identities and expertise in this specific area are not provided or verified in the article. Additionally, there is an example of a hasty generalization when it states 'franchisees had not seen much progress on the automated order taker in the drive-through' and 'operating costs are high.' These statements are based on unnamed franchisees' opinions and do not provide any data or evidence to support these claims.
]Two sources familiar with the technology told CNBC that among its challenges, it had issues interpreting different accents and dialects, which affected order accuracy.[
franchisees had not seen much progress on the automated order taker in the drive-through
