McDonald's says goodbye to AI robots: a wise move?

Artificial intelligence (AI) isn't always the magic solution that companies hope it is. This is evident from McDonald's recent decision to remove the AI robots from their US drive-ins. The technology, which was intended to process orders more efficiently, often led to chaotic situations and reputational damage.

The problems with AI in practice

McDonald's introduced Automated Order Taker technology in over a hundred U.S. branches. This AI-controlled robot was supposed to take orders from customers in the drive-in. Unfortunately, this did not always go smoothly. The robot often misunderstood customers, resulting in incorrect orders. A common example is a TikTok video in which a customer argues with the robot and ends up receiving four ketchup bags and two pieces of butter, while she only asked for water and ice.

The limitations of speech recognition

According to Chris Kempczinski, McDonald's CEO, the speech recognition software is around 85 percent accurate. This means that one out of five customers still needed assistance from an employee. AI experts such as Henk van Ess point out that speech recognition can have difficulty with different accents, dialects, and background sounds, which can lead to misunderstandings and order errors.

Reputational damage and business processes

AI specialist Jarno Duursma emphasizes that the technology behind the talking robots is not yet mature enough. At a time when people are rapidly making videos for social media, “stupid robot” videos can cause enormous reputational damage to companies like McDonald's. Duursma believes that this was a decisive factor in the decision to remove the robots. In addition, he points to the importance of well-designed business processes.

The Future of AI and Speech Recognition

Although McDonald's is removing the AI robots from their restaurants for now, the company will continue to work with IBM, the developer of the technology. AI expert Remy Gieling expects the robots to be able to return to work in two years, but stresses that better integration between humans and machines remains essential.

Meanwhile, other companies are continuing to work to improve AI in combination with voice. OpenAI recently unveiled a new tool that can perfectly mimic voices. While this technology has great potential, OpenAI recognizes the risks of deceiving and counterfeiting audio, especially in an election year.

McDonald's decision to say goodbye to the AI robots is a wise move. It shows that artificial intelligence isn't perfect yet and that companies need to be careful about implementing it. However, the future of AI and speech recognition remains promising, provided that attention is paid to the right integration and ethical considerations.