Fast-food chains including McDonald’s and Burger King are placing greater emphasis on employee interaction as they continue developing automated ordering systems. A Fortune report cited in the coverage said 80% of diners would rather order from a person than an artificial intelligence system.
The shift follows years of automation across the industry. McDonald’s introduced in-store ordering kiosks in 2016, while Wendy’s began using its FreshAI drive-thru program in 2023. McDonald’s also introduced ArchIQ, an AI chatbot for drive-thru locations, in connection with its McDonald’s > NEXT initiative earlier this year.
Burger King is changing some restaurant layouts to make employee contact more prominent. Tom Curtis, the company’s president, told The Wall Street Journal that customers want to see a friendly person and said Burger King needs to respond as human contact becomes less common in fast food.
Other planned changes among McDonald’s, Burger King, Starbucks and Wendy’s include more energetic greetings, keeping counter employees available to address complaints and having staff verify that orders are correct, The Wall Street Journal reported. Wendy’s is also continuing to invest in its digital ordering experience, according to comments from Chief Financial Officer Ken Cook cited by Fortune.
