Chick-fil-A refuses to let AI take your drive-thru order — even as McDonald’s and Wendy’s race to automate theirs

“From our experience, we really want that hospitality to be human to human,” Cathy told CNBC. “We’re not going to substitute that interaction with technology, because we feel like that hospitality is so important to create that warm environment for consumers.”

Elsewhere in the fast-food world, companies are moving in the opposite direction, putting AI directly on the drive-thru headset.

Fierce competition

McDonald’s, for example, recently introduced Archy, an AI-powered drive-thru system that can take orders, suggest an extra item and help make sure your Big Mac and side of nuggets actually make it into the bag. McDonald’s told Moneywise that Archy is already handling real drive-thru orders in English and Spanish, with accuracy rates topping 90%.

“Archy is basically like another employee to us,” one McDonald’s worker said during the company’s Investor Day presentation.

Beyond the Golden Arches, Wendy’s is also leaning into AI. The chain has been developing its FreshAI drive-thru technology with Google Cloud, using generative AI to take orders, understand custom requests and answer questions.

The idea is pretty simple: make drive-thru orders faster and cut down on mistakes. That can be easier said than done when customers are swapping toppings, changing sides and trying to place an order over the sound of traffic or the car behind them.

So far, the technology comes with a trade-off. A 2025 Intouch Insight study of AI-powered drive-thru visits found AI got orders right 83% of the time, compared with 87% across the study overall, and customers using AI were more likely to have to repeat themselves.

That trade-off may help explain why Chick-fil-A may not be rushing to automate the drive-thru experience. A September 2026 Ipsos poll found Americans still prefer dealing with real people at restaurants, while only a small share said they would rather have machines take their orders or prepare their food.

Moneywise reached out to Chick-fil-A for additional comment but did not hear back before publication.