AI in practice part 2
Machine learning is the ability of a computer system to improve the performance of exposure to information, without having to follow explicit programming instructions. The computer system automatically detects patterns in data and can then use the pattern to make estimates.
Here is a very good example of digitization and the use of artificial intelligence:
McDonald's tests AI-powered Drive-Thrus in Chicago
Many have seen that McDonalds has introduced the use of Digital Signage to increase capacity. Where customers can use their smartphone. They also have their own order kiosks where you can arrange everything yourself. All this saves customers waiting time. This has also given McDonalds a good increase in turnover.
McDonald's has begun testing "drive-thru" that use artificial intelligence systems, instead of humans, to take orders. CNBC reported on June 2 this year that the new automated drive-thru is in use at 10 Chicago McDonald's locations.
The new system is based on the voice platform built by Apprente, which McDonald's bought in 2019.
The AI-driven "drive-thru" can reduce customer waiting times and allow restaurants to relocate the workforce in stores. When you look at the time you spend in an order situation, this is probably where a lot of time can be saved, and productivity capacity greatly increased.
A computer that understands natural language is always on and available to take orders. It can also be connected to other automated systems that know a customer's purchase history to automatically make recommendations. With improved comprehension accuracy, a restaurant will no longer need a dedicated person to take (or confirm) a drive-thru order, so more people can provide more customer service or speed up orders.
McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski told Alliance Bernstein's conference on strategic decisions that a major problem for the AI-powered drive-thru is scaling. CNBC reports Kempczinski, who says: "Now there's a big leap from going to 10 restaurants in Chicago to 14,000 restaurants across the United States, with an infinite number of promo permutations, menu permutations, dialect permutations, weather - and so on. and so on."
The apprenticeship seems to work better than Dynamic Yield, which McDonald's also bought in 2019. Dynamic Yield generated automated menu recommendations based on factors such as weather and should also be integrated into self-service kiosks and drive-thrus. However, this technology did not yield the results McDonald's was looking for, and in March this year, The Wall Street Journal reported that McDonald's was looking to sell parts of Dynamic Yield.
While the acquisition of McDonald's Apprente may have dated the pandemic before, last year certainly accelerated the need for improved drive-thru technology when the dining rooms were forced to close. In a survey from February 2021, BlueDot reported that 91 percent of respondents said they had visited drive-thrus last month, and that long waits were a "dealbreaker." Most large QSRs have doubled their drive-thru capacity to meet this demand, adding capacity and building restaurants around takeaways instead of dining.
In addition to adding AI assistants, McDonald's has previously said it will add other features to its drive-thru such as express lanes for digital orders and conveyor belts to transport food out to customers.
Kempczinski also told the conference that McDonald's is also exploring ways to automate parts of the kitchen such as the grill or the fryer. However, he said that any such move at the back of the house is still more than five years away since the technology is too expensive right now.
Source: https://thespoon.tech/mcdonalds-testing-ai-powered-drive-thrus-in-chicago/
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