McDonald's pulls the plug on AI ordering after it generates intriguing orders

After a year of testing, McDonald's has withdrawn its AI-based ordering technology. According to BBC, the system could generate unusual orders, such as ice cream with bacon.

A trial version of the system, developed by IBM, was announced in 2019. It used voice recognition software to process orders in McDonald's restaurants.

Now the chain is pulling back the AI-based order-taking technology. This affects more than 100 drive-thru locations, marking the end of the test period. McDonald's decided on this move after customers shared their comedic mishaps online. The AI was to blame for all of it.

Customers served by artificial intelligence complained about numerous errors. Many of these cases were recorded and posted on TikTok. In one video, a young woman tried convincing the AI that she wanted caramel ice cream, only for the system to add several butter packs to her order.

In another video, a customer claimed that his order was confused with someone else's, causing nine teas to be added to his bill. One McDonald's customer received ice cream with bacon.

McDonald's informed franchisees that by the end of July, it will withdraw AI from the more than 100 restaurants where it was tested.

"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," the restaurant chain said in a statement quoted by BBC.

The artificial intelligence used by McDonald's has been controversial from the beginning. Initially, concerns focused on reducing the number of jobs. Many people worried that the automation of ordering processes could lead to restaurant layoffs. However, system tests showed that replacing human workers might not be as simple as initially feared.

Proponents of the system had hoped that artificial intelligence would increase efficiency and reduce operating costs. Still, numerous mistakes and comedic mishaps have shown that the technology is not yet ready to replace humans fully. Problems such as adding unordered products to orders, mixing up different customers' orders, and generating absurd food combinations led McDonald's to withdraw the system from use.