But that simple act might be about to get a lot more difficult -- thanks to the cost-cutting magic of AI. The fast food chain, alongside other franchises including Sonic and Chipotle, has been trying out AI-powered voice assistants at their drive-thru lanes since at least 2019 -- with often hysterical results, it turns out. Now, customers on TikTok are sharing their horrendous experiences with the half-baked AI chatbots, Insider reports, ending up with random packets of butter or ketchup in their order. It's a pertinent topic in the age of flawed AI chatbots quickly becoming a widespread yet annoying part of everyday life. One particularly disgruntled customer uploaded a video titled "fighting with McDonald's robot," failing to remove a caramel ice cream from her order despite minutes of back-and-forth.

Starting Monday, drive-thru customers at two Panera Bread locations in upstate New York will have their orders taken by a computer in a test of artificial intelligence technology's accuracy and ability to decrease service times. The sandwich chain is the latest restaurant company to invest in potential improvements to the drive-thru experience. A surge in drive-thru ordering during the Covid pandemic led to long lines of cars wrapped around restaurants, pushing chains to focus on speed of service and order accuracy. For example, McDonald's has also been working to automate its drive-thru lane, announcing a partnership last year with IBM to work toward that goal. Yum Brands' Taco Bell and Restaurant Brands International's Burger King have been building double drive-thru lanes at some locations to allow customers to pick up their digital orders more quickly.

The world's biggest restaurant company is buying startup Apprente Inc., a developer of voice-recognition technology for use in the restaurant industry, to help speed up lines. The idea is to eventually have a machine, instead of a person, on the other side of the intercom to relay orders to kitchen staff. In Chicago-area restaurants where the system is already being tested, employees still oversee drive-thru order-taking and can step in when needed. The acquisition is McDonald's third tech deal in the past six months, and fits into the company's push to lean more heavily on machines and artificial intelligence to boost sales. McDonald's is also using Apprente's headquarters in Mountain View, California--also home to Google owner Alphabet Inc.--to start a tech lab, with plans to add employees there.

McDonald's Corp. is making a bet it can automate the task of taking drive-thru orders. The world's biggest restaurant company is buying startup Apprente Inc., a developer of voice-recognition technology for use in the restaurant industry, to help speed up lines. The idea is to eventually have a machine, instead of a person, on the other side of the intercom to relay orders to kitchen staff. In Chicago-area restaurants where the system is already being tested, employees still oversee drive-thru order-taking and can step in when needed. The acquisition is McDonald's third tech deal in the past six months, and fits into the company's push to lean more heavily on machines and artificial intelligence to boost sales.