McDonald's testing AI drive-thru order-taking system called ArchIQ at five locations across country

McDonald's is quietly testing an artificial intelligence system that could fundamentally reshape one of America's most profitable labor categories: the fast-food worker taking orders at the drive-thru window. The company has deployed ArchIQ, a voice-recognition technology, at five locations across the country in what appears to be a precursor to a broader rollout that could displace thousands of entry-level jobs while potentially reducing the labor costs that have plagued franchisees as wages rise. If successful, the experiment could trigger a wave of automation across the quick-service restaurant industry and force a reckoning over whether AI-driven efficiency comes at the cost of opportunity for workers with few alternatives.

Fox Business·Jun 6