McDonald's is removing artificial intelligence (AI) powered ordering technology from its drive-through restaurants in the US, after customers shared its comical mishaps online.
A trial of the system, which was developed by IBM and uses voice recognition software to process orders, was announced in 2019.
It has not proved entirely reliable, however, resulting in viral videos of bizarre misinterpreted orders ranging from bacon-topped ice cream to hundreds of dollars' worth of chicken nuggets.
McDonald's told franchisees it would remove the tech from the more than 100 restaurants it has been testing it in by the end of July, as first reported by trade publication Restaurant Business.
Remember when they tried outsourcing that to India?
No, but it doesn't surprise me.
https://www.twincities.com/2009/01/25/fast-food-restaurants-begin-outsourcing-drive-through-order-taking/
I also found an article from 2006, but it's paywalled.
Do you remember why this failed?
Crappy mics + crappy connections = consumer rejection. Logistical nightmare. Someone reported having their order taken when the restaurant wasn't open yet.
The same reason cold calling doesn't work anymore.
The amount of insurance company calls I get since I have to renew my car insure is absurd. They can go fuck themselves and I will never give them a dime.
"John" with a thick Indian accent on the phone isn't someone I would trust honestly. It's not a racism thing, it's the I don't want to give any information about myself to someone in another country especially when they specialize in scamming people.