McDonald's is removing artificial intelligence (AI) ordering technology from its US drive-thru restaurants after customers shared humorous mistakes online.
Trials of the system, which uses voice recognition software to process orders, were announced in 2019.
But this method isn't completely reliable, and bizarre videos have gone viral of people misinterpreting orders, ranging from bacon-topped ice cream to hundreds of dollars worth of chicken nuggets.
McDonald's has told franchisees it will remove the technology from more than 100 restaurants currently testing it by the end of July, according to an industry publication.
But a company spokesperson told Restaurant Business the company believes “drive-thru voice ordering solutions will be part of the future of our restaurants” to make clear this is not the end goal for such a system.
The technology has been controversial since its inception, with early concerns centered on its potential to make people's jobs obsolete.
But replacing human restaurant workers has proven to be less easy than people initially feared and as proponents of the system had hoped.
The AI order taker's missteps have been documented online.
In one video that has been viewed 30,000 times on TikTok, a young woman tries to convince the AI that she wants caramel ice cream, but becomes increasingly annoyed as the AI simply adds more slices of butter to her order.
In another video that has been viewed 360,000 times, someone claims their order was mistaken for someone else's and nine teas were added to their bill.
Another popular video shows two people laughing after hundreds of dollars' worth of chicken nuggets were added to their order, while the New York Post reports that another person had bacon accidentally added to their ice cream.
But the end of the trial doesn't mean concerns about how AI will transform the workplace end.
IBM, which developed the technology used in the drive-thru, told Business Insider that it will continue to work with McDonald's.
“The technology has some of the most comprehensive capabilities in the industry and has been proven to be fast and accurate in the most demanding conditions,” the company said.
“McDonald's is reevaluating and refining its AOT plans, [Automated Order Taking]We look forward to continuing to work with them on various projects in the future.”
The BBC has contacted McDonald's and IBM for comment.
