Test run completed

AI to take orders at McDonald’s

McDonald's wants to have AI take orders in its restaurants in future. A corresponding test run at more than 100 locations of the fast food chain in the USA has now been completed after two years. However, McDonald's emphasized that this step, which was tested together with IBM, is not the end.

After the test experience, the company is convinced "that a solution for voice ordering in the drive-thru will be part of the future of our restaurants", the US company emphasized in a statement to the trade publication "Restaurant Business". Various options are now to be examined and McDonald's wants to decide on a technical solution by the end of the year.

Software with artificial intelligence is getting better and better at having conversations with people. Speech recognition is particularly suitable for orders in some restaurants, as it should be sufficient to master a manageable selection of words. 

US competitors such as the fast food chains Wendy's and Carl's Jr. are also experimenting with the automated acceptance of spoken orders. It remains to be seen how quickly such solutions could be used outside the USA, as AI software is usually initially developed for English.