McDonald’s Is Testing Ads At Its Drive-Thrus — And Customers Aren’t Happy

Turns out, drive-thrus get as much thought and attention devoted to them as anything else in a fast food business. This shouldn’t be a surprise, I guess – but as something that feels so…functional, it doesn’t seem like the kind of area chains can really innovate in that much. Well, I’m eating my words. 2026 has been a year of developments for McDonald’s drive-thru, and honestly, not all of them have been received that well by customers. Its reported embrace of AI chatbots to help you get your burgers quicker wasn’t exactly beloved, after all – and that’s before all the “AI is gonna end humanity” stuff that popped up later in the year. 

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Now, it’s apparently making another change that is going down, it’s fair to say, like a lead balloon with some people. Your food may soon come with a side of ads. 

McDonald’s Drive-Thru Ads

As reported by Bloomberg (via Kotaku), McDonald’s is testing a new system in its drive-thru that will display third-party ads on its digital menu boards. Apparently, once you’ve placed your order, the boards will pop up – and as you have to sit in your car and wait to pull forward, you’ll be right there to see ‘em. The reasoning, it seems, is that McDonald’s can lease out this currently under-utilized space, which will presumably amount to a new revenue stream for the company. 

In a statement to Bloomberg, McDonald’s stated: “This limited menu board advertising pilot at select company-owned restaurants is exploring ways to share post-purchase content that customers may find helpful, relevant, or interesting, while ensuring the McDonald’s experience remains at the center of every visit.” Exactly what they will decide is helpful, relevant, or interesting, though, is not immediately clear — and as you may expect, the news of this pilot scheme has been received especially warmly by its customers. 

Is That An Understatement?

That is, indeed, an understatement. That is a big understatement. “It’s like they really don’t want anybody as a customer,” said one person on Reddit, while another said, “Not only do they not want to talk to you face to face, provide service or value, but now they’re going to monetize you on top of it? This has to be a joke.” There are plenty of other comments of this ilk, and the general feeling, as we’ve seen plenty of times before, is that McDonald’s is putting its shareholders and income over its customer experience. Oh, boy.