McDonald's is cooking up something new at the drive thru window, but fans of the chain are not enthused. Frustrated customers are sounding the alarm after the fast food giant revealed it's testing a new AI-powered drive-thru ordering system that could potentially replace human employees. The new technology, known as ArchIQ - nicknamed 'Archy' - is being tested at five McDonald's restaurant locations across the United States. Powered by Google's artificial intelligence system, Archy can take orders in both English and Spanish, process custom requests and even recognize repeat customers who ask for 'their usual.' While McDonald's says the change is meant to improve speed and accuracy, many customers seem unconvinced. Some took to social media, sharing their frustration at the new change. 'Just turn it into a vending machine at this point,' one Reddit user wrote.

Another customer complained that they only order via the McDonald's app because of how frustrating the drive-thru experience is, adding that 'the speakers are usually terrible.' 'McDonald's is simply doing what most businesses strive to do with AI,' another Reddit user said, 'increase profits by reducing the number of workers they have to pay. No matter how much the public hates it, they're a business.' Some customers noted that the in-store experience for McDonald's has shifted in recent months. That includes the decision to eliminate soda refill stations at most franchises. 'It’s bad enough that I couldn’t even get a cashier when I went inside,' one Reddit user said. 'I had to download another app that I don’t want so they could notify me when my order number was ready. Haven’t been back since, that was ridiculous.'

For some, this AI-powered change is unsurprising, especially as McDonald's moves in on rival chains Burger King and Wendy's. At the company's biennial convention for franchisees, McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski teased the broad outlines of McDonald's new plan to get customers in the door. Nicknamed 'McDonalds > NEXT,' this initiative will include upgraded restaurant designs, app-powered coupons and more in-store kiosks. 'As more of the customer journey becomes automated, there are fewer opportunities for guests to connect with crew,' Kempczinski said. 'With fewer interactions, the bar for hospitality that makes people feel seen, welcomed and valued only goes up.'

This isn't a McDonald's-exclusive trend. The National Restaurant Association reports that a whopping 75 percent of restaurant orders are done via takeout, meaning less people are stopping inside restaurants to dine-in or order. As a result, other rival fast food chains have moved to make their restaurants more tech-forward. Earlier this year, Burger King announced it was testing AI that listens to what employees say - and reports back to managers if they forget to use words like ‘please’ and ‘thank you.'

The fast food giant rolled out its OpenAI-powered headsets in 500 US restaurants that can give recipe instructions, flag low stock and monitor how ‘friendly’ staff sound to customers. The system, known internally as ‘Patty’, feeds data to managers in real time. If the drink machine is running low on Diet Coke, Patty sends an alert. If a customer complains about a messy bathroom via QR code, a manager is notified instantly. If a customer complains about a messy bathroom via QR code, a manager is notified instantly. Workers can also ask Patty how to make various menu items or tell Patty to remove items from digital menus if they've run out of ingredients.