McDonald’s May Soon Use AI to Take Drive-Thru Orders Across the U.S.
McDonald’s is piloting a new artificial intelligence platform designed to interact with customers, process orders in multiple languages, and support restaurant operations behind the scenes. The technology could eventually be rolled out to drive-thru locations nationwide.
The fast-food chain introduced the system, known as ArchIQ, at its Worldwide convention this week as part of a larger effort to modernize restaurant operations, improve efficiency, and drive future growth, according to industry reports.
McDonald’s is testing a new artificial intelligence-powered ordering system at five restaurants across the United States that can hold conversations with customers and take their orders.
The technology, known internally as “Archy,” is currently being piloted at a small number of locations, although the company has not revealed where the restaurants are situated.
A demonstration shared on X by franchisee-focused account McFranchisee showed the AI handling drive-thru orders in both English and Spanish. In the video, the system appeared to understand customer requests and process orders smoothly, marking a significant step forward from McDonald’s earlier efforts with AI-powered ordering.
According to the account, McDonald’s is preparing for a broader rollout by installing Google Edge Cloud hardware across its U.S. restaurant network.
The post also claimed the system has already processed more than one million transactions, with roughly 90% of orders completed without requiring intervention from a human employee.
The new platform is being built in partnership with Google and marks McDonald’s latest push into artificial intelligence following an earlier, less successful attempt.
Previously, the company worked with IBM on an AI-powered drive-thru ordering pilot that expanded to more than 100 locations. However, the program was discontinued in 2024 after customers reported frequent ordering errors, including incorrect or unwanted items being added to orders.
Meet Archy IQ – no, we are not new to AOT. In fact, we have been in this AI field for about 8 years. We sold our in-house model to IBM and moved on as it wasn’t good enough for our needs.
As mentioned below, I wanted to hire Google (who uses NVIDIA) to service our AOT 3 years… https://t.co/JR8QHQNyKJ pic.twitter.com/e0syxiQwre
— McFranchisee (@McFranchisee) June 3, 2026
However, the company made clear it had not given up on AI after ending the IBM partnership.
At the time, McDonald’s said it would continue exploring “voice ordering solutions more broadly.” Now, it appears ready to take another shot.
But ArchIQ is designed to do more than greet hungry customers at the speaker box.
Beyond ordering, the platform is also capable of monitoring restaurant operations and flagging potential issues before they escalate into larger problems, according to McFranchisee.
“Archy will not only assist drive-thru orders but act as a master brain to help managers run a better restaurant. It’s like a personal assistant that alerts you to potential bottlenecks or issues,” the account said in a post on X.
The AI deployment is part of McDonald’s broader growth strategy, known as “McDonald’s > NEXT,” which focuses on improving efficiency, increasing customer traffic, and boosting overall restaurant performance.
“McDonald’s > NEXT is how we’ll unlock our next phase of growth and productivity, by bringing in more customers more often and improving unit economics,” CEO Chris Kempczinski said in a press release.
McDonald’s has not yet announced a timeline for expanding its ArchIQ AI drive-thru system beyond the initial five test locations.
For now, most customers visiting McDonald’s locations will continue to place drive-thru orders with human employees while the technology remains in its pilot phase.
