McDonald’s has been testing AI for automatic order taking for two years and is refusing to implement it

McDonald’s has stopped testing the automatic order taking system based on artificial intelligence (AI), known as AOT (Automated Order Taker). This experiment started two years ago together with IBM and covered about 100 restaurants. The goal of the system was to simplify and speed up the process of receiving voice orders.

McDonald’s representatives note that AOT has indeed achieved some success, but the company decided to abandon the use of AI due to problems with misinterpretation of dialects and accents. This often led to ordering errors, such as the wrong amount of drinks or adding bacon to the ice cream.

Despite the bad experience, McDonald’s does not rule out the possibility of re-implementing AI in the future. At the same time, IBM plans to continue developing the AOT system as other power networks have expressed interest in the technology.

Thus, the termination of the experiment with AOT at McDonald’s is related to technical problems in the operation of the system, but the prospects for the use of AI in the field of fast food remain open.