McDonald’s Automated Order Taking (AOT) voice AI system

2021-06-02

Between 2021 and mid-2024, McDonald's reportedly piloted an AI-enabled voice ordering system that was developed with IBM and based on its 2019 acquisition of Apprente. It was reportedly deployed at at over 100 U.S. drive-thrus. Social media posts alleged frequent misorders, such as adding unwanted items, mixing adjacent lane orders, and ignoring corrections. In June 2024, McDonald's confirmed it ended the IBM pilot, citing plans to explore alternative voice-AI vendors.