Voice recognition app from Apprente to speed up McDonald’s drive-thru

Chicago — McDonald’s is making a bet it can automate the task of taking drive-thru orders.

The acquisition is McDonald’s third tech deal in the past six months, and fits into the company’s push to lean more heavily on machines and artificial intelligence to boost sales. McDonald’s is also using Apprente’s headquarters in Mountain View, California — also home to Google owner Alphabet — to start a tech lab, with plans to add employees there.

McDonald’s sees Apprente, which has fewer than 20 employees, helping it move cars through the drive-thru lane more quickly and take orders more accurately than employees. The company is also investing in adding ordering apps and kiosks in its restaurants and digital menu displays. Founded in 2017, Apprente says its technology can accurately interpret conversational language — such as a customer ordering a hamburger with no onions and extra sauce. McDonald’s is already testing the technology in two locations in the drive-thru lane, which makes up about 70% of the company’s business. It plans to roll Apprente’s technology out nationwide, Easterbrook said. He predicts it will have a “positive impact on more than half of our customers”.

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