In a recent LinkedIn post, Betsy Tong explores the contrasting applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the fast-food industry, highlighting cautionary tales and best practices for executives considering AI implementation. Tong contrasts the approaches of McDonald’s and Chipotle, offering critical questions for businesses to consider before adopting new technologies.
Betsy Tong begins by framing the common executive impulse towards AI: a desire for cost reduction and profit maximization through workforce replacement. She points out the flawed assumption that AI implementation will be a seamless, universally beneficial process. Tong illustrates this with the example of McDonald’s, which, in pursuit of efficiency, replaced human drive-through operators with AI order-takers.
“AI means we don’t need people. Lower costs. Higher profits. No one will mind.”
This approach, as Betsy Tong details, led to significant operational issues. The AI system at McDonald’s reportedly missed 20% of orders, creating more work for human crews who had to correct the errors. This outcome directly contradicted the anticipated benefits, leading McDonald’s to abandon the pilot program.
Analyzing AI’s Pitfalls and Potential
Betsy Tong uses the McDonald’s experience to underscore a key pitfall: the assumption that AI can universally replace human roles without negative consequences. She argues that the initial motivation—scaling cheaply—often overlooks the complexities of real-world application and customer experience. According to Tong, the technology did not necessarily lead to fewer mistakes but rather shifted the type of errors and burdened existing staff.
The Chipotle Success Story: AI as a Safety Enabler
In stark contrast, Betsy Tong presents Chipotle’s use of AI as a model for effective implementation, particularly in enhancing safety and risk management. Following a costly food safety incident in 2015, Chipotle partnered with Palantir to integrate various data streams, including inspection scores, pest activity, and illness reports, into a single risk assessment view for each location.
“Connected inspection scores, pest activity, and illness reports into one risk view per location. Made a decision tool for the people accountable for safety.”
This strategic use of AI, as Betsy Tong highlights, empowered human decision-makers. When a potential health crisis emerged, the AI-driven insights allowed for quicker identification and intervention. Tong emphasizes that Chipotle’s objective was not to replace staff but to leverage AI to prevent crises and improve operational safety, a stark departure from McDonald’s cost-cutting focus.
Key Questions for AI Adoption
Betsy Tong distills her analysis into two critical questions that executives should ask before deploying AI, emphasizing a need for strategic alignment rather than just technological adoption:
- Will this eliminate work, or create a new layer as people fix what the bots broke?
- Is it work AI is good at? Ex. Taking scatter data and defining patterns?
Tong’s post serves as a critical examination of AI’s role in business, advocating for a more nuanced and purpose-driven approach. By contrasting the outcomes at McDonald’s and Chipotle, she argues that the success of AI hinges not on replacing humans, but on augmenting their capabilities and addressing specific, suitable tasks.
“McDonald’s tried to scale cheaply. Chipotle is preventing crises.”
Betsy Tong concludes by encouraging followers to engage with her insights on how AI can be effectively utilized. Her analysis suggests that the future of AI in business lies in its ability to solve complex problems and enhance human oversight, rather than simply cutting costs through automation.
📝 About This Content
This article is based on insights shared by Betsy Tong on LinkedIn.
📅 Originally posted on October 1, 2026 | View original post on LinkedIn →