{"id":161652,"date":"2019-09-11T20:41:35","date_gmt":"2019-09-11T12:41:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.geek.com\/featured\/-1803644\/"},"modified":"2019-09-11T20:41:35","modified_gmt":"2019-09-11T12:41:35","slug":"mcdonalds-plans-to-serve-ai-voice-technology-at-drive-thru","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/test\/wordpress\/2019\/09\/11\/mcdonalds-plans-to-serve-ai-voice-technology-at-drive-thru\/","title":{"rendered":"McDonald\u2019s Plans to Serve AI Voice Technology at Drive Thru"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(via Joirib Morales Uc\/Unsplash)<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

McDonald’s is slowly but surely eliminating humans workers from its fast-food equation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Following the rollout of self-order kiosks and “personalized” menus, the burger empire plans to automate drive-thrus with its acquisition of Apprente<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Silicon Valley startup, purchased for an undisclosed sum, was founded in 2017 to create voice-based platforms for multilingual, multi-accent, and multi-item conversational ordering.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, McDonald’s wants to use the system<\/a> for faster, simpler, and more accurate order taking.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Building our technology infrastructure and digital capabilities are fundamental \u2026 and enable us to meet rising expectations from our customers, while making it simpler and even more enjoyable for crew members to serve guests,” McD’s CEO Steve Easterbrook said in a statement.<\/span><\/p>\n

It’s not entirely clear exactly how the Apprente tech will work; McDonald’s has already tested the automation solutions at select restaurants, but provided no further details.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Apprente was born out of an opportunity to use technology to solve challenging real-world problems,” according to co-founder Itamar Arel. “And we’re thrilled to now apply this to creating personalized experiences for customers and crew.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Arel & Co. will be founding members of a new in-house team called McD Tech Labs, expected to grow with the addition of engineers, data scientists, and other experts in the future.<\/span><\/p>\n

While the initial focus will be to enhance McDonald’s drive thrus, the company aims to incorporate this technology into mobile ordering and kiosks.<\/span><\/p>\n

“As we all know, technology can change by the day. And with that, so do our customers’ expectations,” a Golden Arches press release said. “We are committed to delivering the best possible experience for restaurant crew and our customers. And this is only the beginning.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Earlier this year, McDonald’s purchased AI platform Dynamic Yield<\/a>, teasing upcoming “personalized” menu options related to time of day, weather, current restaurant traffic, and trending items.<\/span><\/p>\n

The electronic bill of fares even understands current service times, suggesting only those things that are easy to make during peak hours, in an effort to keep the drive thru running smoothly.<\/span><\/p>\n

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