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McDonald's rolls out menus that use AI to guess your order to 700 restaurants across the U.S.


McDonald’s rolls out drive-thru menus that use AI to guess your order at 700 restaurants across the U.S.

  • McDonald’s is launching AI-powered menus at hundreds of U.S. store locations
  • The menus can suggest items based on time of day, weather and more factors
  • Firm said it’s ‘improving and modernizing’ the ways that it connects to customers

Soon, you won’t have to struggle to decide what to eat from the McDonald’s menu.

The fast food giant is rolling out high-tech menus at 700 restaurants across the country that use artificial intelligence to suggest items. 

It comes after McDonald’s acquired Israeli digital startup Dynamic Yield in March.

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McDonald's is launching high-tech kiosks at 700 restaurants across the country that use AI to suggest items. The menus make suggestions based on time of day, weather and other factors

McDonald’s is launching high-tech kiosks at 700 restaurants across the country that use AI to suggest items. The menus make suggestions based on time of day, weather and other factors 

WHAT IS DYNAMIC YIELD? 

McDonald’s purchased Dynamic Yield, an Israeli company which employs data and analytics to increase sales.

The tech company will help McDonald’s develop dynamic menus capable of tailoring products based on time, location, and even the weather. 

McDonald’s purchasing of the company is likely in response to increased competition in U.S. markets. 

Using AI, the menus can suggest items based on the time of day, weather or recent trends, like showing a hashbrown alongside a cheeseburger – a combination that recently went viral on Reddit

The menus will also be able to suggest add-on items, such as a Minute Maid orange juice to go along with your McMuffin. 

The announcement came during McDonald’s most recent earnings call with investors. 

‘We’re leveraging technology to improve and modernize the way we connect with customers,’ CEO Steve Easterbrook told investors, according to Nation’s Restaurant News. ‘We’re confident about the road ahead.’ 

In the future, McDonald’s hopes to add the AI software to its apps and kiosks, Easterbrook added. 

The AI-powered menus are also expected to launch in international markets at some point.  

‘This will enable McDonald’s to be one of the first companies to integrate decision technology into the customer point of sale at a brick and mortar location,’ McDonald’s said in a statement. 

In the future, McDonald's hopes to add the AI software to its apps and kiosks. The AI-powered menus are also expected to launch in international markets at some point

In the future, McDonald’s hopes to add the AI software to its apps and kiosks. The AI-powered menus are also expected to launch in international markets at some point

The AI-powered menus utilize technology developed by Dynamic Yield, the startup McDonald’s recently acquired. 

On Dynamic Yield’s website, the company describes a mix of services that employ data and analytics to measure and respond to consumer behavior and preference. 

Its testimonials boast substantial uptick in sales and engagement for brands in online retail and more.  

While McDonald’s reported sales growth in 2018, which the company attributes to delivery and mobile app ordering, in the U.S. — the restaurant’s key market — store traffic receded.

Breakfast, in particular, has been an area of concern according to a report from ABC News.

With added competition from direct rivals like Taco Bell, McDonald’s has been losing its share of morning-time customers.

To help boost its brand ‘stickiness’ the company has launched a sprawling, and costly redesign of its stores across the world to the tune of $1.4 billion in 2018 for its U.S. stores alone. 



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