A popular first job is safe from a digital takeover – for now – after McDonald’s ended its AI drive-through trial after some embarrassing results.

The company has told franchisees it will wind down its two-year AI drive-through ordering partnership with IBM “no later than July 26, 2024″, according to Restaurant Business.

The trial was being run at more than 100 McDonald’s locations, although the technology does not appear to have been trialled in Australia.

The trial ends after videos of multiple mishaps did the rounds on social media.

One TikToker shared a clip of himself struggling to make the AI understand he didn’t want bacon added to his ice-cream, while another TikTok appeared to show AI adding hundreds of dollars worth of chicken nuggets to a customer’s order.

@typical_redhead_ I thought TikTok would appreciate this 💀 #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #comedy #fail ♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys – Kevin MacLeod & Kevin The Monkey

In a statement to Restaurant Business, McDonald’s said the goal of the trial was to determine if automated voice ordering could speed up service and simplify operations.

Although McDonald’s partnership with IBM in regards to the AI drive-through technology is ending, the fast food giant said the latter remained a “trusted partner” whose products were still used across McDonald’s global system.

Rather than stopping AI-powered drive-throughs, the end of the trial may just delay it.

McDonald’s statement noted the trial with IBM had given the company “confidence that a voice-ordering solution for drive-through will be part of our restaurants’ future”.

“We see tremendous opportunity in advancing our restaurant technology and will continue to evaluate long-term, scalable solutions that will help us make an informed decision on a future voice ordering solution by the end of the year.”

@that_usa_guy FAIL: The new AI ordering system at McDonald’s #mcdonalds #AI #artificialintelligence @McDonald’s Corporate ♬ original sound – Dal JustDal

In a statement to Restaurant Business, IBM said it was already in talks with other fast food businesses about the use of its AI drive-through technology.

“IBM developed automated order taker technologies with McDonald’s to support the emerging use of voice-activated AI in restaurant drive-throughs,” the company said.

“This technology is proven to have some of the most comprehensive capabilities in the industry, fast and accurate in some of the most demanding conditions.”

McDonald’s was not the only fast food company to explore the possibility of AI drive-through systems.

Fellow American companies White Castle and Wendy’s also launched trials of the technology.