McDonald's AI drive-thru: the IBM test and what came after

McDonald's tested AI order-taking with IBM in more than 100 U.S. drive-thrus and switched it off by July 26, 2024. In June 2026 it was testing a new voice system, called Archy, in five U.S. restaurants with Google. In September 2026 it told investors Archy takes orders in English and Spanish and plans to roll out its wider AI platform from 2027.

Five stores is a small start for a chain with about 13,600 U.S. locations, as Restaurant Business noted in June 2026. Most of what is public so far comes from the company's own statements.

What happened, and when?

Date	What McDonald's or its partner announced	Source
September 2019	Agreed to buy Apprente, a voice ordering startup, to make drive-thru order taking "faster, simpler and more accurate." The team became McD Tech Labs.	McDonald's release
October 2021	Agreed to sell McD Tech Labs to IBM as part of a deal to speed up automated order taking (AOT).	Restaurant Business
December 2023	Announced a multi-year Google Cloud partnership, including edge computing hardware and software for thousands of restaurants from 2024. The release did not mention drive-thru voice ordering.	McDonald's and Google release
June 2024	Told franchisees it would end the IBM AOT partnership and shut the technology off in all test restaurants no later than July 26, 2024.	Restaurant Business
June 2026	Presented its McDonald's Next strategy at its convention, including a drive-thru voice AI test, nicknamed Archy, in five locations with Google.	Restaurant Business
September 2026	At its investor day, described Archy as part of ArchIQ, an AI restaurant operating system, and gave the first public performance claims.	Investor day transcript

Why did McDonald's end the IBM test?

The company gave a short reason. In the June 2024 franchisee memo quoted by Restaurant Business, Mason Smoot, chief restaurant officer for McDonald's USA, wrote: "While there have been successes to date, we feel there is an opportunity to explore voice ordering solutions more broadly."

The same message called IBM a "trusted partner" whose other products McDonald's would keep using. McDonald's said the test gave it confidence that voice ordering "will be part of our restaurants' future." IBM said it was talking with other chains. Neither company published error rates, cost or speed results from the test in those statements.

What is Archy, and how does it relate to ArchIQ?

Archy is the drive-thru voice assistant. ArchIQ is the wider AI system around it, which McDonald's calls a restaurant operating system. At the September 2026 investor day, global chief information officer Brian Rice named four parts: Archy, automated inventory, connected equipment with computer vision, and order-checking scales.

Rice said Archy "takes live orders in both English and Spanish with accuracy above 90%." He said drive-thru customer satisfaction in early test restaurants is "above national trends" and that "as Archy scales, it will free at least 50 labor hours per week."

Google's part is clearest in the edge computing deal. Rice said McDonald's has put Google edge technology in thousands of restaurants across seven major markets and plans to complete the U.S. rollout in 2027. The company said ArchIQ and other added features will be deployed "in sequenced bundles" from 2027, market by market.

What has McDonald's said, and what has it left open?

Question	What McDonald's has said	Not stated in the sources above
Is the IBM system still running?	No. It was to be shut off by July 26, 2024.	Test results or the cost of the test
How many restaurants use Archy?	Five U.S. test locations were reported in June 2026	A current count, or a date for all U.S. restaurants
How accurate is it?	Accuracy "above 90%" in English and Spanish (September 2026)	How accuracy is measured or how often staff step in
What will it save?	"At least 50 labor hours per week" as Archy scales	Whether that figure is per restaurant, and the basis for it
Who builds it?	ArchIQ builds on the Google partnership; Archy was tested with Google	Which parts come from Google and which from McDonald's
When will it spread?	ArchIQ bundles deploy from 2027, market by market	A firm schedule for Archy in any one market

McDonald's also said Archy works in English and Spanish only for now, so markets such as Germany will wait for other languages. Treat any claim of a national rollout date as unconfirmed until the company states it.

What can a restaurant operator take from McDonald's experience?

McDonald's began buying drive-thru voice technology in 2019 and, after two partners, had a new system in five test restaurants in 2026. A small operator can run the same checks on one lane.

1. Define a correct order before the trial. Decide whether a correct order means one the AI finished alone, or one that reached the kitchen correct after staff help. Ask the vendor to report both.
2. Test the voices you serve. McDonald's is live in two languages and has said other markets must wait. List the languages, accents and local words your guests use and include them in test orders.
3. Check the order after the speaker. ArchIQ also includes scales that check bagged orders, which it says catch and correct 10% of orders checked. Compare the confirmed cart with what reaches the window.
4. Count the labor hours you save. Record who still wears a headset and how often they step in. A labor saving only counts if the schedule changes.
5. Keep a way back. McDonald's could switch off the IBM system across its test stores on a set date. Make sure your crew can turn off any lane AI in one step.

If you want to test AI at your own lane, Maple's drive-thru unit is in early access with a small number of restaurants. It stands beside the existing speaker post, and one press returns the lane to the crew. It is priced per unit, with no public price.

Published by Maple. This AI-assisted guide combines McDonald's releases, its investor day transcript and Restaurant Business reporting linked above. It reports only what the company and its partners said on the dates shown. It does not estimate McDonald's results or report a Maple customer test.