McDonald's turns to AI to boost order accuracy, stay ahead of equipment failure

In a nutshell: McDonald's is turning to artificial intelligence to improve operations at 43,000 restaurants. The initiative, according to Chief Information Officer Brian Rice, will help crews deal with daily stressors including customer and vendor interactions as well as equipment failures. The Wall Street Journal notes that McDonald's starting rolling out edge computing platforms at some of its US restaurants last year, and plans to add more to the mix in 2025. The new tech affords a host of possibilities. Computer vision, for example, could check for accuracy using fixed cameras in the kitchen before an order is passed along to a customer. Automated order-taking AI, like the kind McDonald's tested with IBM last year, could streamline drive-thru orders. Sensors installed on kitchen equipment could collect data in real time and use it to better predict when deep fryers or ice cream machines are most likely to fail. Elsewhere, edge computing could help restaurant managers with admini ... Read full article.