Chick-fil-A is keeping humans at the drive-thru while McDonald’s tests AI ordering and defends a separate pricing algorithm in court
Source: Fortune ·
AI could ease restaurant workloads—or create new headaches. The stakes reach from getting orders right to how menu prices are determined.
From the source
The fast-food industry has spent decades trying to make ordering a burger faster. Digital menus, mobile apps, self-service kiosks—you name it. Now, artificial intelligence wants a turn at the drive-thru speaker. But at Chick-fil-A, the familiar “my pleasure” still needs to come from a human. While McDonald’s is testing AI-powered voice ordering at its drive-thrus, Chick-fil-A CEO Andrew Cathy says his restaurants won’t follow suit. The chicken chain isn’t rejecting AI altogether, but it believes some parts of the fast-food experience are better left to humans, even if technology could make them more efficient. McDonald’s is also defending a different kind of algorithm in court. A new lawsuit alleges its pricing recommendation system helped coordinate higher menu prices, claims the company denies. The two technologies are separate, but both put a spotlight on how much control restaurants are willing to hand over to AI—and how much responsibility remains with the people using it. Why…