McDonald’s to test AI drive-thru system at five locations
by The Washington Times AI News Desk · The Washington TimesMcDonald’s announced this week that it is piloting a new artificial intelligence-powered operating system called ArchIQ, including a voice-based drive-thru assistant, as part of a broader business strategy unveiled at its Worldwide Convention in Las Vegas.
The fast food chain introduced the initiative — dubbed McDonald’s Next — as a framework to reimagine its menu, restaurant design, customer engagement and staffing. At the center of the strategy is ArchIQ, an AI platform developed in partnership with Google that McDonald’s says is designed to streamline kitchen operations and reduce unnecessary work for crew members.
Five U.S. restaurant locations are currently testing Archy, the ArchIQ drive-thru voice assistant, according to the company. McDonald’s has not disclosed which restaurants are participating in the pilot.
According to a post on X by the account @McFranchisee, every U.S. McDonald’s location is receiving Google Edge Cloud hardware in advance of a broader rollout. The account also shared an ordering demonstration showing the system in action, and claimed the system had processed more than one million transactions with about 90 percent completed without human intervention and that it handles orders in both English and Spanish. Those figures and the bilingual capability have not been independently verified or confirmed by McDonald’s.
The announcement marks McDonald’s second attempt at AI-powered drive-thru ordering. The chain ended a partnership with IBM in 2024 after a test spanning more than 100 locations drew customer complaints about erroneous orders, including unwanted items being added to transactions. At the time, the company said it intended to explore voice ordering solutions more broadly.
McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski said in a message to the system that the company could not ask customers to choose between speed and hospitality.
“In a world where every restaurant is a swipe away, there is no such thing as second place,” he said.
The company also unveiled a new restaurant prototype at the convention featuring updated touchpoint ordering systems and redesigned interiors. The rollout of the new design is available to franchisees with upcoming remodels. Additional menu additions previewed at the event include hand-breaded McCrispy chicken and new beverage offerings.
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No timeline has been set for a broader deployment of Archy.
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