McDonald’s will stop testing AI to take drive-thru orders, for now

Nemeski@lemm.ee to Technology@lemmy.world – 512 points –
McDonald’s will stop testing AI to take drive-thru orders, for now
theverge.com
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I used the Mcdonalds app a few times and the drivethru was always faster, lmao.

They require location services and don't start cooking until you're inside their geofence, but IME they seem to still prioritize drivethru customers.

I have disabled location settings because it tracks the drive from my home. I enable it to use any deals and close the app after ordering and taking a photo of the order number. They start cooking after you let them know the code in the drive-thru. No need to open the app. They do prioritize drive-thru’s because their performance is tracked based off that. That’s why they sometimes ask you to pull ahead from the window. I never worked there, I just noticed the timing screen in the kitchen when I used to do DoorDash, which tracked when a car got in and out of the line. They used to act as though I was invisible and only served drive-thru.

I don't eat at McDonald's, so I haven't had that experience. But I love being able to order Sheetz food for the next morning when I'm going on a trip, or schedule it for when I'm going to need a pit stop and just have it ready. Wendy's is also pretty good about this, too.