McDonald’s latest change doesn’t come with a side of fries.
The home of the Big Mac is updating 43,000 restaurants with AI technology to target “stress” that employees deal with, McDonald’s Chief Information Officer Brian Rice told The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, March 5.
“Our restaurants, frankly, can be very stressful. We have customers at the counter, we have customers at our drive-through, couriers coming in for delivery, delivery at curbside. That’s a lot to deal with for our crew,” Rice said.
McDonald’s Ice Cream Cones.
Alamy Stock Photo
Rice explained that the technology setup, called edge computing, is meant to quickly send data “to the cloud” so franchisees can see how their restaurants are operating. That data can include predictions about when kitchen equipment like fryers or infamously faulty ice cream machines will break down. Edge computing can also be used for AI-powered communication for the drive-through.
According to Rice, McDonald’s is exploring using computer vision, the form of AI used for facial recognition by TSA in airports. This technology would be used in cameras to “determine whether orders are accurate before they’re handed to customers,” per WSJ.
McDonald’s is implementing these technology initiatives to grow the number of customers from 175 million to 250 million by 2027.
While the AI news might not satisfy anyone’s hunger, the chain restaurant launched a celebrity-driven breakfast campaign on Monday, March 3.
Just one day after the 97th Academy Awards, McDonald’s dropped a new commercial that spotlights Oscar-nominated actors and other attendees’ go-to breakfast items.
“There’s only one meal Hollywood relies on,” the commercial declares, as order receipts featuring meals for Michael B. Jordan (two egg and cheese McMuffins and two hash browns with strawberry jelly), Jackie Chan (Sausage Egg McGriddle, apple pie and black coffee), Kieran Culkin (one small Coke) and many others.