Jun 4, 2026
McDonald’s has laid out a new strategy that it hopes will draw in customers who have cut back on restaurant visits over the past few years, giving franchisees more decision-making power to tailor locations to the local shopper and boosting the quality of the food served.
Dubbed McDonald’s > NEXT, the initiative comes amidst what CEO Chris Kempczinski called “a challenging environment” in the company’s most recent earnings call.
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“I think probably it’s fair to say that ... it’s certainly not improving, and it may be getting a little bit worse,” Kempczinski said. “Our focus is on what we can control, and on that score, I feel very good about the balance of the year.”
As part of the strategy, McDonald’s says it will elevate parts of its menu, such as improving the McCrispy chicken line, and lean into customer favorites, like last year’s viral Grimace milkshake.
It also plans to offer a new restaurant design and improve its back-end systems to become more intuitive, making it easier for workers to improve speeds.
“We can’t ask our customers to choose. Hospitality or speed. Great taste or convenience. Value or quality. They want what Ray called the total of everything,” the restaurant wrote in an announcement. “They won’t trade one for another because they don’t have to. In a world where every restaurant is a swipe away, there is no such thing as second place.”
Incorporating AI
Part of the changes will be another test of artificial intelligence at the chain. Five restaurants will use an automated system called ARCHY to take orders at the drive-through, letting employees focus on other duties.
That’s a notable reversal for the company, which ended a two-year partnership with IBM in 2024 that saw AI -order taking at over 100 restaurants. “While there have been successes to date, we feel there is an opportunity to explore voice ordering solutions more broadly,” said Mason Smoot, chief restaurant officer for McDonald’s USA, in an email obtained by trade publication Restaurant Business.
TikTok, during the last test, was filled with videos of confused customers getting items they never asked for, ranging from nine sweet teas to two pats of butter. “Cream packet? No! I just want a large water and a cup of ice cream. Not a ketchup packet! Oh, my God,” one customer exclaimed to the bot in one video, which can be heard asking questions in the background.
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McDonald’s is unveiling the new strategy as it has faced a rolling series of image and PR gaffes in the past few years: 2024 saw the rise of the phrase “McFlation,” which followed reports of about $8 chicken sandwiches and $18 Big Mac meals. (McDonald’s CEO Joe Erlinger addressed that in a public letter to counter what he called the “viral social posts and poorly sourced reports that McDonald’s has raised prices significantly beyond inflationary rates.”)
Erlinger was mocked earlier this year for an awkwardly staged video promoting the new “Big Arch” burger, which rival CEOs used as fodder to boost their own social media channels. And the economy has done the chain no favors.
Just 40% of U.S. customers said McDonald’s offers good value in 2024, a steep decline from 55% in 2020, according to surveys from UBS Evidence Labs shared with Reuters.
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Chris Morris is a veteran journalist with more than 35 years of experience at many of the internet's biggest news outlets. In addition to his activities as a writer, reporter and editor, Chris is also a frequent panel moderator and speaker at major conferences, including CES and South by Southwest.
