McDonald’s acquires AI company trying to automate the drive-thru:

“McDonald’s said Tuesday it has agreed to acquire a company that is trying to automate the drive-thru. It’s the fast-food giant’s third tech-focused deal this year.

Apprente, a Silicon Valley company founded in 2017, uses artificial intelligence to understand drive-thru orders, which could cut down on service times. McDonald’s said the technology also could be used someday in its self-order kiosks and mobile app.”

*Not only can technology be used to show people different menu items based on time of day to increase order size, AI could be used to reduce labor costs.