By now you've seen the big news about the world's largest fast-food chain by revenue. It was a bit shocking that it took this long to happen, but McDonald's (MCD) is finally embracing advanced technologies like artificial intelligence to boost sales. The guy credited with the turnaround at the 65-year-old restaurant behemoth since 2015, Steve Easterbrook, was behind the technological push that saw McDonald's not only embrace digital innovation but acquire two AI companies this year. This is big news for a few reasons. Before this year, it had been nearly two decades since the company made its last acquisition of a mediocre fast-food chain called Boston Chicken.

A Happy Meal and AI might not be the most obvious pairing but 2019 has seen McDonald's hit the headlines for its fast-paced investments in tech. In March, it acquired online personalisation startup Dynamic Yield for more than £232.8m This sparked a series of acquisitions, paving the way for what seems like the beginning of a journey for the iconic fast food chain to become the Amazon of food. A month later, it bought a 9.9% stake in mobile software company Plexure in a deal valued at about £3.8m, according to reports. The New Zealand-based company already helps with McDonald's mobile app but this surge of investment will see the chain have unprecedented access to Plexure's new tech for its app.

McDonald's has failed to lure customers in with new technology, bringing the firm's third-quarter earnings down by two percent and dropping net income to $1.6 billion. Although the firm's net income experienced dipped, it was able to show a 5.9 percent increase in global comparable sales, including a decent rise in the US. However, Investors have put pressure on profits following the fast-food giant's increased spending on a variety of technologies including artificial intelligence and voice recognition. McDonald's has failed to lure customers in with new technology, bringing the firm's third-quarter earnings down by 2% and dropping net income to $1.6 billion. Although the firm's net income dipped, it was able to show a 5.9% increase in global comparable sales, including a decent rise in the US Quarterly earnings for McDonalds were flat at $2.11 per share, while Wall Street was looking for at least $2.21 of earnings per-share, according to analysts polled by FactSet. The Chicago company said its third-quarter revenue was $5.4 billion, again missing Wall Street's mark, which was forecasted to be $5.49 billion.

Fast food chain McDonald's has made yet another push into the world of automation. The company on Tuesday revealed it is acquiring conversational technology startup Apprente with a plan to integrate its systems with services such as drive-thru menus, self-order kiosks, and the mobile app. It comes just months after the fast food giant began rolling out AI-powered menus at hundreds of its locations across the United States, using the technology to make more precise menu suggestions. McDonald's on Tuesday revealed it is acquiring conversational technology startup Apprente with a plan to integrate its systems with services such as drive-thru menus, self-order kiosks, and the mobile app McDonald's President and CEO Steve Easterbrook said the latest acquisition will make it'simpler and even more enjoyable for crew members to serve guests.' Back in March the company acquired Israeli digital startup Dynamic Yield with similar plans to improve the customer experience using AI. Its AI menus can suggest items based on the time of day, weather or recent trends, like showing a hashbrown alongside a cheeseburger - a combination that recently went viral on Reddit.

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 (NYSE: MCD) announced on Tuesday that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Apprente, an early stage artificial intelligence company. The acquisition will help further advanced McDonald's employee and customer interaction and strengthen its technology capabilities. Apprente, founded in 2017, creates voice-based platforms for multilingual, multi-accent, and multi-item conversational ordering. The technology can be used in McDonald's restaurants to simplify and speed up orders at the Drive Thru. "Building our technology infrastructure and digital capabilities are fundamental to our Velocity Growth Plan and enable us to meet rising expectations from our customers, while making it simpler and even more enjoyable for crew members to serve guests" said Steve Easterbrook, President and Chief Executive Officer, McDonald's Corporation.

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.

McDonald's is partnering with Dynamic Yield, a leader in personalized tech, to customize drive-thru experiences. McDonald's hopes that an investment in technology is the special sauce that will transform drive-thru ordering. The fast-food giant announced Tuesday that it has an agreement to acquire Apprente, a Silicon Valley-based start-up specializing in conversational voice-based ordering technology. McDonald's said the technology understands different accents and is "expected to allow for faster, simpler and more accurate order taking at the Drive Thru" and could also be incorporated into kiosks and mobile ordering. "Building our technology infrastructure and digital capabilities are fundamental to our Velocity Growth Plan and enable us to meet rising expectations from our customers, while making it simpler and even more enjoyable for crew members to serve guests," Steve Easterbrook, McDonald's president and CEO, said in a news release.

Soon, you won't have to struggle to decide what to eat from the McDonald's menu. The fast food giant is rolling out high-tech menus at 700 restaurants across the country that use artificial intelligence to suggest items. It comes after McDonald's acquired Israeli digital startup Dynamic Yield in March. McDonald's is launching high-tech kiosks at 700 restaurants across the country that use AI to suggest items. McDonald's purchased Dynamic Yield, an Israeli company which employs data and analytics to increase sales.

McDonald's is buying an artificial intelligence start-up to help serve up data-driven meal choices. The technology developed by Israeli start-up Dynamic Yield can automatically change menus depending on the weather, time of day and traffic. McDonald's is reported to be paying $300m (£227m) for the tech firm. Number-plate recognition would also allow it to offer customers at drive-throughs their usual food order, McDonald's told Wired. Dynamic Yield's technology would allow AI to determine what products are promoted, for example automatically suggesting McFlurry ice cream on hot days, or telling customers which items are already proving popular at that particular restaurant that day.