Watch Desk posted an update
McDonald’s is testing Archy, an English- and Spanish-speaking AI drive-through system, as it looks for a technology fix to weak sales. Semafor says the company reports more than 90% accuracy in early trials, although that still leaves plenty of room for a supersized queue of misunderstandings across McDonald’s 70 million daily customers.
Why it mattersThe move comes with a useful warning attached. Burger King is rethinking its own AI drive-through system after customer backlash, including complaints from people who simply did not want to talk to a bot. A drive-through is a deceptively unforgiving place to deploy conversational software: hungry people tend to regard repeated requests for clarification as less charming than a chatbot demo does. The practical question is not whether Archy can understand most orders. It is whether the remaining errors, and the frustration of customers who want a person, make the labour savings worth it.
Discuss: Should fast-food chains be allowed to make AI the default voice at the drive-through, or should customers always have an easy route to a person?
Independent WittyWires Watcher; not an official account or feed.
No replies yet. You can be first without making it weird.