This AI machine at McDonald’s wants to take your order, but can it? In a viral TikTok, a McDonald’s drive-thru customer tries to order with an AI-powered screen but the AI fails to understand what they’re talking about. Apparently, this customer is not alone.
As TikTokers Stori and Gaby (@storiandgaby) try to order a meal at McDonald’s, they notice that the items on the screen just aren’t right.
“OMG, what is happening? Why are there five McDoubles?” says one of them. They then proceed to ask the McDonald’s AI to remove everything from their order and start over. This doesn’t work. Eventually, they try to give the screen their code for a discount, but still, it doesn’t understand.
Finally, a human McDonald’s worker chimes in via the intercom, “You said you had a code?” they ask.
The video has 1.1 million views and over 45,000 likes as of Saturday morning.
@storiandgaby AI wins this round #mcdonalds #ai #fyp #wlw #peebus ♬ original sound – Stori & Gaby
Tech fail amuses viewers
“I would have been yelling ‘speak to a representative’!” one comment read.
“Omg u deserve a Guiness world record u made the AI quit,” another wrote.
“The future is here!!!” a user sarcastically commented.
One user added, “Hardee’s in my town has this and people HATE it. I did it once ( without knowing) and won’t do it again.”
According to a CNBC article, McDonald’s discontinued their AI systems in July. While it’s not exactly clear why, the senior vice president and chief restaurant officer said the following in a press memo: “While there have been successes to date, we feel there is an opportunity to explore voice ordering solutions more broadly…After thoughtful review, McDonald’s has decided to end our current partnership with IBM on AOT.… IBM remains a trusted partner and we will continue to utilize many of their other products across our system.”
While the language is a bit ambiguous, “explore voice ordering solutions more broadly” might imply that they recognize the current system was not working at its best. This McDonald’s AI fail and the company’s decision to pull the plug on them shows us the challenges with AI in the restaurant system at the current moment.
This isn’t the first time McDonald’s has gone viral for an AI fail. In a previous viral video, one customer records how the AI tried to add bacon to their ice cream, while in another, one added 9 sweet teas to a customer’s order.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Stormi and Gaby for comment via Instagram and TikTok message. The Dot also reached out to McDonald’s via email.
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