McDonald's Leads Fast Food Industry in Massive AI Implementation Across 43,000 Locations

McDonald's to employ AI at 43K locations to speed up service:...

McDonald's is the latest fast food restaurant to use artificial intelligence to step up its game. The fast food giant is overhauling all 43,000 restaurants with an AI makeover in an attempt to cut wait times and make a better experience for both customers and employees. Upgrades will start with internet-connected kitchen equipment, AI-enabled drive-throughs and AI-powered tools for managers to help make sure that orders are accurate and so restaurants can predict equipment issues before they shut down. To accomplish this mission, the company tapped Google Cloud in late 2023 to implement more computing power in restaurants, allowing them to process and analyze data on-site. Known as edge computing, the setup is generally a faster and cheaper option than sending the data to the cloud. Suppliers have already begun to install sensors on the equipment that will ultimately give the data to the system and allow employees to see how the restaurant is operating in real time. "Our restaurants, frankly, can be very stressful," Brian Rice, McDonald's Chief Information Officer, said regarding employees who face these issues, The Sun reported. "We have customers at the counter, we have customers at our drive-through, couriers coming in for delivery, delivery at curbside," he continued. "That's a lot to deal with for our crew. Technology solutions will alleviate the stress." The chain is also looking into computer vision -- the type of AI behind facial recognition -- in store cameras to determine whether orders are accurate before they go into customer hands. McDonald's hopes that the AI upgrades will help grow loyal Golden Arches customers from 175 million to 250 million by 2027. Rice shared that the Golden Arches will be looking for a "generative AI virtual manager" that will perform administrative tasks including shift scheduling instead of a manager. The edge computing system will also be able to power voice AI at the drive-through, which McDonald's is exploring with Google's cloud-computing arm -- a venture they have already unsuccessfully tried out. In 2021, McDonald's teamed up with IBM to use artificial intelligence software to take customers' orders. In July 2024, the Golden Arches ended its AI-powered automated drive-thru experiment at more than 100 locations after angry customers reported receiving items they didn't order. But McD's isn't the first fast food chain to do this. Wendy's recently announced that it will implement artificial intelligence to help take orders at hundreds of their drive-through windows by the end of the year. Wendy's AI voice assistant -- dubbed "FreshAI" -- first began testing in 2023 and is currently used in about 100 Wendy's locations, and it's expected to expand to somewhere between 500 and 600 locations by the end of the year.

McDonald's turns to AI to boost order accuracy, stay ahead of equipment failure

In a nutshell: McDonald's is turning to artificial intelligence to improve operations at 43,000 restaurants. The initiative, according to Chief Information Officer Brian Rice, will help crews deal with daily stressors including customer and vendor interactions as well as equipment failures. The Wall Street Journal notes that McDonald's starting rolling out edge computing platforms at some of its US restaurants last year, and plans to add more to the mix in 2025. The new tech affords a host of possibilities. Computer vision, for example, could check for accuracy using fixed cameras in the kitchen before an order is passed along to a customer. Automated order-taking AI, like the kind McDonald's tested with IBM last year, could streamline drive-thru orders. Sensors installed on kitchen equipment could collect data in real time and use it to better predict when deep fryers or ice cream machines are most likely to fail. Elsewhere, edge computing could help restaurant managers with administrative tasks. A "generative AI virtual manager, similar to ones Taco Bell and Pizza Hut have been testing, would make it easier for managers to perform shift scheduling. McDonald's would not say how many locations in the US currently have edge computing capabilities in use. As Sandeep Unni, a retail analyst at market research firm Gartner, highlights, the popular burger giant will no doubt face difficulty when it comes to rolling out the tech across franchise and corporate owned locations. Deployment costs are also a concern, Unni added. Whether or not the technology supplements are needed is partially a matter of personal opinion. One could argue that funding for the initiative could perhaps be better spent on improving employee training and tightening up routine maintenance. If staff was more efficient at tasks like taking drive-thru orders and ensuring order accuracy, AI overlords wouldn't be needed. Rival fast food outfits like In-N-Out and Chick-fil-A have perfected customer service, and there's little reason why others couldn't replicate their success if it were made a priority.

McDonald's Customers Will Get Their Meals With a Side of AI

Last month, McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski took to Instagram to predict accelerated AI use would be one of the three main focuses of fast-food businesses in 2025. (The other two were decidedly lower-tech "proteins" and "sauces.") This week, the company's chief information officer Brian Rice provided more details behind that forecast, telling the Wall Street Journal about what the Golden Arches' deployment of AI would involve, and the improvements it would seek to attain. While customers will ultimately be the biggest beneficiaries of those benefits, staff at the chain's 43,000 locations will be the first served. "Our restaurants, frankly, can be very stressful," Rice told the paper. "We have customers at the counter, we have customers at our drive-through, couriers coming in for delivery, delivery at curbside. That's a lot to deal with for our crew. Technology solutions will alleviate the stress." Along with that, of course, the global fast-food giant will look to improve customer experience by introducing AI to allow drive-through, kiosk, and app tech serve visitor more effectively. Behind the counter, meanwhile, McDonald's plans to use AI to ease numerous in-store challenges.

McDonald's claims 43,000 restaurant AI overhaul is to 'alleviate stress' for employees

TL;DR: McDonald's is implementing a technological overhaul in over 43,000 restaurants, introducing AI-enabled drive-throughs and internet-connected kitchen equipment to enhance customer and worker experiences. This move aims to address issues like broken machines and incorrect orders, but concerns remain about the impact on human workers and job displacement in the fast-food industry. As reported by WSJ, McDonald's recently announced their plans for a technological overhaul - with over 43,000 restaurants receiving new internet-connected kitchen equipment, AI-enabled drivethroughs, and powered AI tools for managers. Credit: McDonald's Corporation The move aims to provide 'better experiences for its customers and workers', citing issues such as broken machines and incorrect orders. McDonald's Chief Technology Officer Brian Rice has been insistent on the benefits of the new AI-powered tools, highlighting the stressful work environment, and the volume of orders for customers. "Our restaurants, frankly, can be very stressful. We have customers at the counter, we have customers at our drive-through, couriers coming in for delivery, delivery at curbside. That's a lot to deal with for our crew," Rice said in an interview. "Technology solutions will alleviate the stress." One of the defining characteristics of McDonalds is efficiency - and the brand has been experimenting with new technology and workflows since its inception. By 2023, the company opened its first automated restaurant in Fort Worth, Texas, and last year, they began testing for AI-powered drive-throughs. While McDonald's frames these innovations as ways to improve efficiency and customer experience, they are a business. With a slow Q1 and an aggressive goal to grow its customer base from 175 million to 250 million by 2027, there's no doubt that these overhauls will fundamentally change the role of human workers in its restaurants. Which highlights a broader issue - not just for McDonald's 2 million employees, but the fast-food industry as a whole. The World Economic Forum estimates AI and automation could displace up to 92 million jobs globally by 2030, with retail and food service among the most affected. Robotics and intelligence systems have also been introduced for major brands, including Taco Bell, Chick-fil-A and Wendy's. While it will take time before we see the effects on staffing, one thing is clear-innovation won't come without a cost.

Fast Food Chains Step Up AI Adoption Despite Early Missteps | PYMNTS.com

The fast food industry is stepping up its adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, with market stalwarts including McDonald's, Yum! Brands and Wendy's expanding their deployment of the technology to streamline operations, improve profitability and enhance the customer experience. Last week, McDonald's Chairman and CEO Chris Kempczinski cited AI adoption among his top three trends in 2025 for the quick service restaurant industry. (The other two were protein and sauces.) "Everybody's talking about AI and AI certainly has a lot of applications in our business," he said on Instagram. "We've got a number of teams looking at how we can use AI to deliver an even better experience for our customers and even better experience for our crew members." According to a December survey of restaurant operators and financiers by TD Bank, 42% said AI and automation will have the greatest impact on the restaurant industry in 2025. That's second only to lower interest rates, at 46%. At McDonald's, the chain is revamping the technology footprint at its 43,000 restaurants, including enabling kitchen equipment to connect to the internet, deploying AI-powered drive-throughs and providing AI tools for its managers, CIO Brian Rice told The Wall Street Journal, per a Wednesday (March 5) report. Kitchen equipment will have sensors that feed data into its edge computing system -- where data is processed and analyzed in the store -- to give franchisees a real-time view of their restaurants' operations. McDonald's is also considering using computer vision with its in-store cameras to make sure orders are correct before they're handed to customers. It is also thinking about creating a "generative AI virtual manager" that can handle administrative tasks like shift scheduling. Read more: McDonald's Sees Boost in Loyalty Amid Challenges in Q4 Earnings McDonald's will try its hand again at deploying an AI voice-ordering system at its drive-throughs. This time, it is partnering with Google Cloud. A similar experiment with IBM led to wrong diner orders -- such as bacon ice cream -- thus killing the deal. Last fall, Domino's was sued over allegedly using recorded phone orders to train its AI voice assistant, according to Bloomberg Law. The lawsuit was dropped in January. Wendy's AI also had a rough start, with diners complaining about its early days. "It. Is. Horrible," opined one diner on Reddit. "I can speak loud and clear and it would still take 3x to understand what I'm saying. The AI would keep cutting me off mid-sentence." But the AI is improving. "One thing I love about it, it continues to get better," Wendy's CEO Kirk Tanner told analysts during the company's latest earnings call. "I put it to the test almost three or four times a week. It understands what to ask for, and the accuracy definitely is improving." See also: Wendy's Purchasing Co-op to Deploy Palantir's AI-Powered Supply Chain Solutions Yum! Brands, the parent of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, on Feb. 6 announced an integrated AI-driven platform called 'Byte by Yum!' to be rolled out throughout its global locations. The platform aims to optimize restaurant operations, improve order accuracy and increase diner satisfaction. Byte uses AI to enhance online and mobile ordering, point-of-sale systems, kitchen and delivery optimization, labor management and team member training. It can forecast inventory more accurately and help speed up promotional rollouts, while its efficiencies aids in employee retention. U.S. locations of Taco Bell uses Byte for integrated ordering and back-of-house efficiencies, while Pizza Hut locations in the U.S. saw improved delivery times and order tracking through the AI-powered kitchen system. The platform is already in use at 25,000 international locations. Meanwhile, Wendy's is expanding FreshAI, its AI-powered drive-thru ordering system pilot program, from 100 to 500-600 locations in 2025. Tanner said the technology increased the average amount spent by customers, since AI suggests additional items to order. Higher labor efficiency also added 80 basis points to restaurant margins at company-operated locations globally compared to a year ago. The plan is part of a broader digital transformation of Wendy's, including digital menu boards, AI-driven kiosks and backend automation tools. More like this: Yum Brands: AI-Powered Marketing Campaigns Boost Customer Engagement It's not a surprise that quick service restaurants (QSRs) are expanding their adoption of AI. "Restaurants are leveraging AI and automation to enhance operations and elevate guest and employee experiences," said Anup Prasad, senior vice president and head of the Consumer Business unit at Cognizant, a global IT services company that recently expanded its partnership with McDonald's. "These technologies are pivotal for improving forecasting, addressing labor challenges, optimizing supply chain tracking, enhancing food safety and reducing waste through better demand forecasting," Prasad told PYMNTS. Sam Jones, a partner at Torch Capital whose deals include an IPO for Sweetgreen restaurants, added that he's seeing "significant" opportunities for fast food chains to streamline operations, reduce overhead costs and enhance customer experiences through the intelligent adoption of AI. "The potential use cases are endless in an industry where profitability is so tightly aligned to streamlining operating expenses," Jones told PYMNTS. "There are also major opportunities to leverage AI to drive top-line growth and enhance customer experiences." Jones envisions a future where fast food apps and kiosks will feel more like "personal assistants, suggesting exactly what you want before you even ask, derived from previous orders, dietary restrictions and real-time factors like time of day" and other data. "We're still very much in the early stages of this adoption, with most companies still determining where in the value chain they see the greatest opportunity for AI to improve their operations," Jones said.

Your next McDonald's order might be managed by AI

McDonald's is upgrading its 43,000 restaurants with new technology, including internet-connected kitchen equipment and artificial intelligence-enabled drive-throughs, aimed at enhancing the experiences of customers and workers, according to The Wall Street Journal. The initiative comes in response to operational challenges, such as broken machines and incorrect orders, according to Brian Rice, the company's chief information officer. Rice noted, "Our restaurants, frankly, can be very stressful. We have customers at the counter, we have customers at our drive-through, couriers coming in for delivery, delivery at curbside. That's a lot to deal with for our crew." He emphasized that technological solutions would help alleviate this stress. The transition to advanced technology is timely, as McDonald's faced sluggish U.S. sales in January amid a broader downturn in the fast-food sector. The company indicated that low-income diners and families are particularly feeling the economic strain. McDonald's aims to increase its loyalty customers from 175 million to 250 million by 2027 with a better tech-enabled experience. To support this goal, McDonald's partnered with Google Cloud in late 2023 to deploy edge computing, enabling restaurants to process and analyze data on-site more efficiently and cost-effectively compared to traditional cloud solutions, particularly in remote areas, according to Rice. Pinterest will no longer let AI content go unlabeled Edge computing will facilitate functionalities such as predicting kitchen equipment failures, including fryers and the McFlurry ice cream machines. Suppliers have begun installing sensors on this equipment, providing franchisees with real-time operational insights. AI will analyze this data to detect early maintenance issues. McDonald's is also exploring computer vision technology in store-mounted cameras to check order accuracy prior to customer delivery. Rice stated, "If we can proactively address those issues before they occur, that's going to mean smoother operations in the future." The rollout of edge computing commenced in some U.S. restaurants in 2024, with plans for broader implementation throughout the year. McDonald's did not disclose how many restaurants currently have this edge cloud connectivity or the timeline for completion. This edge computing capability will also enhance voice AI at drive-throughs, with ongoing experimentation in voice-activated systems and robotic deep fryers since 2019. McDonald's ended its partnership with International Business Machines in 2024 after testing automated order-taking at the drive-through. Rice mentioned plans to develop a "generative AI virtual manager" to assist restaurant managers with administrative duties such as shift scheduling. This concept has already been investigated by other fast-food entities, including Yum Brands' Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. As a frontrunner in the adoption of edge computing in the fast-food industry, McDonald's is not alone; the technology is anticipated to be valuable across various sectors with dispersed physical sites, including healthcare and manufacturing. However, challenges such as implementation costs and uniform technology deployment across franchises and corporate locations remain, as noted by Sandeep Unni, a retail analyst at Gartner. McDonald's refrained from disclosing the specifics of its technology investments. Compared to its quick-service restaurant peers, McDonald's has made considerable investments in new digital technologies. This strategy, combined with the substantial customer data it has accumulated, positions the fast-food giant favorably to enhance customer loyalty. AI will assist McDonald's in customizing promotions and offers by analyzing customer data and linking it with external factors such as weather conditions, as stated by Rice. "A customer who we know loves our sweet treats could get an offer through the app for a McFlurry on a hot summer day," he remarked.