“We will continue to evaluate long-term, scalable solutions through the end of the year that will help us make informed decisions about future voice ordering solutions,” the statement added.
The technology has been controversial from the start, with initial concerns over its potential to make people's jobs obsolete.
But it has become clear that replacing human restaurant staff may not be as simple as people initially feared, and the system's backers had hoped.
The AI order taker's incidents were recorded online.
In one video with over 30,000 views on TikTok, a young woman tried to convince an AI that she wanted caramel ice cream, only to get increasingly angry as it added several dollops of butter to her order.
In another video with 360,000 views, a person claims his order was mixed up with someone else's, resulting in nine tea orders being added to his bill.
Another popular video shows the pair laughing while ordering hundreds of dollars worth of chicken nuggets., OutThe New York Post reports that someone else accidentally added bacon to their ice cream., Out.
But just because this trial is over doesn't mean concerns about AI reshaping the workplace have disappeared.
IBM, which developed the technology used in the drive-thru, said it would continue to work with McDonald's in the future.
“This technology has the most comprehensive capabilities in the industry and has proven to be fast and accurate even under the most challenging conditions,” the company said in a statement.
“We look forward to continuing to work with McDonald’s on a variety of projects as they reevaluate and improve their plans for automated order taking.”
