McDonald’s is ending its experiment with AI-assisted ordering at specific drive-through locations after videos of order errors gained widespread attention online.

The fast food company has decided to discontinue the AI-powered voice-ordering system in approximately 100 of its outlets, amid a surge of restaurant chains adopting technology to reduce increasing labor costs.

McDonald’s initiated the trial in collaboration with IBM at a select number of drive-through restaurants in the U.S. back in 2021.

Trade publication Restaurant Business first broke the news on Friday.

“While there have been successes so far, we believe there is a chance to explore voice ordering solutions more comprehensively,” Mason Smoot, chief restaurant officer for McDonald’s USA, stated in an email referenced by Restaurant Business.

“Following a thorough review, McDonald’s has chosen to terminate our current partnership with IBM on AI technology, and it will be discontinued in all restaurants currently using it by July 26, 2024,” Smoot added.

Despite the termination of the trial, McDonald’s emphasized that this is not the end of its AI initiatives, expressing confidence that a voice ordering solution will be integral to its future drive-thru services.

“We recognize significant potential in enhancing our restaurant technology and will keep assessing long-term, scalable solutions to help us make an informed decision on a future voice ordering solution by the end of the year,” the Chicago-based company stated in a press release to various U.S. media outlets.

While McDonald’s provided no specific reason for ending the collaboration, the decision follows TikTok videos showing the system misplacing orders, duplicating them, and creating odd food combinations such as ice cream with ketchup and butter.

Other leading U.S. fast-food companies like Chipotle, Wendy’s, Carl’s Jr, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut have been deploying AI technologies, promising improved workflows and reduced costs.

In April, Joe Park, the technology chief at Yum Brands, owner of KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell, told the Wall Street Journal that the company believes an “AI-first approach works in every aspect of operations”.