The New York Times reported that McDonald’s “…is turning to artificial intelligence and machine learning in the hopes of predicting what customers want before they decide. The October 22, 2019 article entitled “Would You Like Fries With That? McDonald’s Already Knows the Answer” included these comments:
Over the last seven months, McDonald’s has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to acquire technology companies that specialize in artificial intelligence and machine learning. And the fast-food chain has even established a new tech hub in the heart of Silicon Valley — the McD Tech Labs — where a team of engineers and data scientists is working on voice-recognition software.
At some drive-throughs, McDonald’s has tested technology that can recognize license-plate numbers, allowing the company to tailor a list of suggested purchases to a customer’s previous orders, as long as the person agrees to sign away the data.
As the evolution of the McDonald’s drive-through shows, the internet shopping experience, with its recommendation algorithms and personalization, is increasingly shaping the world of brick-and-mortar retail. Restaurants, clothing stores, supermarkets and other businesses use new technology to collect consumer data and then deploy that information to encourage more spending.
Actually, no one should be surprised by McDonald’s use of AI!
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