Macca’s axes ‘wild’ new drive-through feature after order gaffes

The fast-food giant has abruptly ended a trial at more than 100 of its US restaurants following a string of mistakes with diners’ orders.

McDonald’s is planning to end its artificial intelligence-powered automated drive-through experiment in the US after angry customers reported receiving items they didn’t order.

More than 100 restaurants have been using robots to take orders after the American-born fast food chain partnered with IBM on the pilot program two years ago.

But the franchisees involved in the program have been told the AI trial is coming to an abrupt end after a string of costly mistakes, the New York Post reports.

The gaffes included adding nine sweet teas to one customer’s order and giving another customer an ice cream cone topped with bacon.

McDonald’s informed franchisees in an email Thursday that the program will end July 26, though it said it will likely reintroduce the use of AI at its drive-through windows sometime in the future, according to Restaurant Business.

“While there have been successes to date, we feel there is an opportunity to explore voice ordering solutions more broadly,” McDonald’s USA chief restaurant officer Mason Smoot said in the leaked email.

“After a thoughtful review, McDonald’s has decided to end our current partnership with IBM and the technology will be shut off in all restaurants currently testing it no later than July 26, 2024.”

Mr Smoot added that burger giant will continue to evaluate its plans to make “an informed decision on a future voice ordering solution by the end of the year”.

In February, a TikTok user known as “Ren” posted a video testimonial in which she described how cross-talk from a neighbouring drive-through station led the McDonald’s AI to add nine orders of sweet tea to her bill — instead of the hash brown, sweet tea and Coke that she ordered.

Another user, Madilynn Cameron, posted a video that shows her “fighting with a McDonald’s robot” as she entered a drive-through and placed an order of vanilla ice cream without caramel — only for the machine to add cream packets instead.

“I just want a large water and a cup of ice cream,” she said in the clip. “Where’d the butter come from?”

McDonald's has announced it is axing a controversial drive-through trial in the US. Picture: news.com.au

Many described the new AI-technology as ‘wild’. Picture: TikTok

In January, Cailyn Sykora posted a TikTok showing the AI-powered drive thru adding more than 20 orders of a McNuggets Meal, worth some $US 222 (about $335 Australian dollars).

“The McDonald’s robot is wild,” the caption on the video read.

McDonald’s embrace of AI-technology can be traced back to 2019, when it acquired the start-up firm Apprente, which introduced AI-based voice solutions that can be used in customer service settings.

The acquisition of Apprente was done with the goal of eventually deploying the AI-powered technology at the restaurants’ drive-through locations in order to improve speed and efficiency of order-taking.

McDonald’s then folded Apprente into its own AI-focused division called McD Tech Labs. In 2021, McD Tech Labs was sold to IBM.

As part of the deal, IBM partnered with McDonald’s to scale up the rollout of its AI-powered automated order taking.

There were a string of issues with the new robots which were hoped would speed up order taking at drive-throughs. Picture: TikTok

McDonald’s told Restaurant Business that the goal of the pilot program was to test whether the new technology could speed up the drive-through ordering process.

The company said IBM will still be a “trusted partner and we will still utilise many of their products across our global system”.

“As we move forward, our work with IBM has given us the confidence that a voice-ordering solution for drive-through will be part of our restaurants’ future,” McDonald’s said.

“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.”

An IBM spokesperson told the publication 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-throughs,” the company said in the statement.

“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.

Macca’s said in an email to franchisees the tech would be withdrawn in participating restaurants by July 26. Picture: TikTok

IBM said that “while McDonald’s is re-evaluating and refining its plans for AOT, we look forward to continuing to work with them on a variety of other projects.”

The New York Post also contacted McDonald’s and IBM for comment.

Other fast food chains have also deployed AI technology to help streamline its customer service experience in the US.

Domino’s is using AI voice recognition for order-taking as well as using machine learning algorithms to optimise delivery routes and times.

Starbucks has put AI to work in order to personalise customer recommendations through its app.

While KFC in China has started using AI software in its facial recognition technology in certain locations to help predict customer orders.

This article originally appeared on The New York Post and was reproduced with permission