McDonald’s is ending its test run of AI powered drive-thru’s after several mishaps.
Transcript:
CONWAY GITTENS: I’m Conway Gittens reporting from the New York Stock Exchange. Here’s what we’re watching on TheStreet today.
Investors were focused on the consumer in a pre-holiday-thinned trading session. A jump in May retail sales was not as big as expected. Consumers are spending but at a decelerating pace. Stubbornly-high inflation and a Federal Reserve that’s keeping interest rates at their highest point in nearly two decades are both eroding consumer spending power.
Markets are closed Wednesday for the Juneteenth holiday.
In other news: The rollout of any new technology can be marred by mishaps, and AI is no exception. McDonald’s is pulling the plug on a trial run using AI to take orders at the drive-thru.
The 2-year test will stop in July and the AI voice recognition technology, powered by IBM, will be yanked, according to a memo sent to franchisees, seen by trade publication Restaurant Business. According to the report, the recognition technology wasn’t very good at recognizing customer orders, resulting in some zany, viral-worthy mishaps at the drive-thru. The system is being tested in more than 100 McDonald’s restaurants in the U.S.
Mason Smoot, the chief restaurant officer for McDonald’s USA, told franchisees in that email memo: “While there have been successes to date, we feel there is an opportunity to explore voice ordering solutions more broadly,” adding, there will be “an informed decision on future voice ordering solutions by the end of the year.”
McDonald’s has moved slower than many of its peers when it comes to adopting AI at the drive-thru.
That’ll do it for your daily briefing. From the New York Stock Exchange, I’m Conway Gittens with TheStreet.
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