Welcome to McDonald's. A machine will take your order now

Drive-thrus are a lead generator of fast-food sales during the pandemic, and many chains, like McDonald's are trying to speed up the process by deploying new tech, including artificial intelligence for ordering.

"Welcome to McDonald's, what can I get for you?" it asks in a welcoming, unmistakably feminine tone. While the voice sounds helpful, it's also stilted and monotonous enough for the average customer to figure out they're being served by a computer, not a human. It's a lot like Alexa or Siri, but for a drive-thru: a system driven by artificial intelligence that McDonald's is testing out to speed up its service.