McDonald's pilots AI drive thru system at five U.S. sites

McDonald's is testing a new artificial intelligence system at the drive-thru in five U.S. restaurants, marking a significant step in the company's push to automate customer service. The system, called ArchIQ and featuring a voice assistant nicknamed Archy, was unveiled as part of the broader "McDonald's Next" strategy announced at the company's Worldwide Convention.

The initiative represents a renewed effort in automated order-taking after the company ended a previous partnership with IBM in 2024. That earlier system, tested at over 100 locations, was discontinued following customer complaints about incorrect orders. The new ArchIQ platform is being developed in partnership with Google, which is also providing underlying hardware. According to an online account representing a McDonald's franchisee, Google Edge Cloud hardware is being installed at every U.S. restaurant ahead of a potential wider rollout.

Preliminary data from the test indicates the system has processed over one million transactions, with approximately 90 percent of orders completed without requiring human intervention. The AI assistant is designed to handle orders in both English and Spanish. Company executives...