McDonald’s is changing the direction of its artificial intelligence plans.
The fast-food giant is ending its trial run with artificial intelligence drive-thru technology International Business Machines Corporation Over 100 restaurants. A memo sent to franchisees late last week and obtained by CNBC shows the so-called automated order takers will be shut down by July 26.
Global AI partnership begins in 2021.
“While we have seen success to date, we believe there is an opportunity to explore voice ordering solutions more broadly,” Mason Smoot, McDonald’s U.S. senior vice president and chief restaurant officer, said in a memo to franchisees. After thoughtful review, McDonald’s has decided to end our current relationship with IBM for AOT… IBM remains a trusted partner and we will continue to use many of their other products in our systems.
Two sources familiar with the technology told CNBC that one of the challenges it faces is issues interpreting different accents and dialects, which affects the accuracy of orders. McDonald’s declined to comment on accuracy or technical challenges, while IBM did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the tool’s accuracy.
The decision was made at Del Taco’s wing stop Companies like Panera have been testing ways to use artificial intelligence from the front to back offices to streamline operations. Chipotle and Yum Brands In recent years, it has also taken a leading position in the field of robotics and artificial intelligence investment.
McDonald’s told CNBC in a statement that despite ending its partnership with IBM, it has not ruled out potential future AI drive-thru projects.
“As we move forward, our partnership with IBM gives us confidence that drive-thru voice ordering solutions will be part of the future of our restaurants,” the company said in a statement. “We see tremendous opportunity to advance restaurant technology and will continue to evaluate long-term, scalable solutions that will help us make informed decisions about future voice ordering solutions by the end of the year.”
IBM said in a statement that after the test is completed, it will work with McDonald’s on “various other initiatives.”
“IBM is currently in discussions and pilots with several quick-service restaurant customers interested in AOT technology,” the company said in a statement.
McDonald’s sold its McD Labs technology, formerly known as Apprente, to IBM in 2021. Predictive ordering technology Dynamic Yield sold to Mastercard.
While McDonald’s future AI plans are unclear, all eyes will be on letterIt’s Google. At its investor day in December, McDonald’s announced a new partnership with Google Cloud, but neither company provided details on what the partnership would be.
“We are excited to see how McDonald’s will use our generative artificial intelligence, cloud and edge computing tools to improve the signature dining experience for its associates and customers around the world,” Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said in a statement at the time.
In a report this spring, BTIG analyst Peter Saleh wrote that franchisees haven’t seen much progress with drive-thru kiosks, “regarding infrequent updates and the global The presentation at the convention was “disappointing” because all the orders witnessed there were incorrect. “We’re still hearing that accuracy is still in the low-to-mid 80% range and operating costs are high,” while wider testing of the technology has yet to take place.
Saleh added that there has been speculation that Google will make an appearance at McDonald’s Worldwide Conference in Barcelona in April, leading some to believe that Google may replace IBM as the company’s artificial intelligence supplier.
“Accuracy is the most important thing right now,” Saleh told CNBC on Monday. “It has to be at least 95 percent accurate and it has to save (franchisees) money over having someone drive through, which it is now. Designed to do neither,” he said of the IBM technology.
Google did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on the possible consequences of its partnership with McDonald’s. McDonald’s declined to comment.
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