McDonald's Is Making Changes to Its Drive-Thru, Here's the Details

Like any industry, the fast food sector has been grappling with how to incorporate artificial intelligence into its service models. With all the money in the universe, it’s no surprise that McDonald’s has been able to move faster than most. As we plunge into 2026, it’s making some huge shifts to how its drive-thrus operate, in a bid to improve efficiency and customer experience, and make ordering those regular and region-specific menu items much easier.

Interestingly, McDonald’s is also planning some physical changes to its drive-thrus throughout the year and ahead of 2027. Will it all pay off with customers? Only time will tell.

You Could Soon Be Talking to AI Chatbots When You Order at a McDonald’s Drive-Thru

Perhaps the biggest change that we could all be seeing in 2026 and beyond at McDonald’s is the integration of AI chatbots. In early 2025, The Wall Street Journal reported that the mega-chain was exploring the ability to use AI voice technology on a much wider scale at its stores, following a lengthy exploration period of its benefits for the business and its customers.

According to Brian Rice, McDonald’s’ chief information officer, this technology is intended to reduce friction at its locations. “Our restaurants, frankly, can be very stressful,” Rice stated. “We have customers at the counter, we have customers at our drive-through, couriers coming in for delivery, delivery at curbside […] Technology solutions will alleviate the stress.”

McDonald’s isn’t shy about splashing the cash or working with major companies to supercharge its AI efforts at the drive-thru: In December 2023, it announced a deal with Google Cloud to work towards artificial intelligence solutions across its stores. Those solutions may well soon be seen when you next pull up your car (although we kinda hope they keep it away from the epic Orlando McDonald’s, which has kept a lot of its old-school charm).

You might face less worry that your order’s wrong, too: In 2025, McDonald’s announced that it was working on rolling out new AI-powered Accuracy Scales across its drive-thrus, which would help crew members catch if anything’s missing from a meal before handing it to a customer.

McDonald’s Could Also Be Making Its Drive-Thrus Bigger

We may live in the AI age, but artificial intelligence can’t stop you from getting annoyed when you have to wait too long for your Big Mac. Luckily, McDonald’s has a plan for that, too: 2026 could be the year that we see an explosion of multi-lane drive-thrus.

Back in late 2023, McDonald’s announced new development targets across its stores and pledged to revamp and enhance its drive-thru experience for customers by adding additional lanes where possible. This, McDonald’s said, would create more capacity and speed up operations, ultimately leading to happier customers. Whether it actually does or whether it just leads to more honking horns and annoyance remains to be seen.