McDonald's Automated Order Taker
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McDonald's AI-powered automated ordering system (AOR) used voice recognition and natural language processing to enable customers to place orders quickly and easily from their cars.
Initially based on technologies from voice recognition company Apprente and AI order taking outfit Dynamic Yield, the system was trialed at ten restaurants in Chicago in 2021 and subsequently in over 100 US locations in partnership with IBM.
McDonald's terminated the trial in June 2024.
System 🤖
Automated Order Taker
Documents 📃
McDonald's (2022). 5 Things to Know About McDonald’s New Test Restaurant in Texas
Operator:
Developer: Apprente; IBM; McDonald's
Country: USA
Sector: Travel/hospitality
Purpose: Process customers orders
Technology: Voice recognition; NLP/text analysis
Issue: Accuracy/reliability; Effectiveness/value; Privacy; Employment
Risks and harms 🛑
McDonald’s drive-through chatbot order taker faced criticism relating to accuracy, privacy and transparency.
Concerns were also expressed about its impact on jobs.
Incidents and issues 🔥
Legal, regulatory 👩🏼⚖️
Carpenter vs McDonald's (pdf)
Page info
Type: System
Published: December 2021
Last updated: December 2024