Kristen Charpentier’s first clue that something was amiss when pulling into her local Dairy Queen drive-thru came from the voice on the speaker; it was too polite, too pleasant. The AI, she soon discovered, had taken over.

Roughly 4 percent of US fast-food locations now use voice AI in their drive-thrus, with chains like Taco Bell and Dairy Queen leading the charge. The technology promised faster, more accurate orders—but reality proved a bit murkier. TikTok videos showed AI ordering errors, including adding 260 Chicken McNuggets by mistake. Customers also tried to break the AI, with one ordering an absurd number of water cups.

The initial enthusiasm for AI drive-thrus soon turned into disappointment. Social media mockery and less-than-ideal performance pushed many chains back towards human workers, despite the potential cost savings. Yet some, like White Castle, continued testing because AI represented a way to streamline fast food operations, making service quicker and cutting costs.

Four years on, the pendulum seems to be swinging again as McDonald’s retests AI ordering with Google at select US locations. For now, though, the era of fully automated drive-thrus remains in its infancy, fraught with challenges but promising a future where human interaction is optional—just don't expect it to be perfect.