Automated Order Taker for drive-thru voice ordering in 100+ US restaurants
The so-called Automated Order Taker will be shut off no later than July 26From the source, 2024-06-17
What happened
McDonald's tested IBM's Automated Order Taker, a voice AI that took drive-thru orders, in more than 100 US restaurants as part of a partnership that began in 2021. In June 2024 a memo to franchisees said McDonald's would end the partnership and shut the system off no later than July 26, 2024. McDonald's did not give a specific reason, saying only that it saw an opportunity to explore voice ordering more broadly and still expected voice ordering to be part of its future. Reporting tied the decision to accuracy: two sources told CNBC the system struggled with different accents and dialects, and viral videos showed it adding bacon to ice cream and hundreds of dollars of Chicken McNuggets to orders.
Why it matters: A restaurant analyst told CNBC a drive-thru voice system needs to be at least 95% accurate and save franchisees money over a person, and said the IBM system as designed did neither.
Sources
- Company
- McDonald's
- Industry
- Restaurants
- Vendor / platform
- IBM
- Type
- Voice agent
- Status
- Killed
- Evidence date
- 2024-06-17
- Source
- https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/17/mcdonalds-to-end-ibm-ai-drive-thru-test.html
- Last checked
- 2026-10-17
Status reflects only what the linked source states on the evidence date. If it changed, Suggest an update.