Did you see a viral video recently claiming that McDonald’s was testing out robot workers at its stores? The video was picked up by news outlets like the New York Post and strongly suggested that McDonald’s could be on the verge of replacing humans. But an executive at McDonald’s has set the record straight.
The video was filmed in Shanghai, China, and featured humanoid robots waving and appearing to interact with customers: “A McDonald’s in Shanghai has begun deploying humanoid robots (from KEENON Robotics) to serve customers.”
One tweet about the video even included the caption, “In the future, fully automated, staff-less McDonald’s locations may soon become a reality. A single store might require very few human employees, with even the kitchen operations entrusted to intelligent robotic systems.”
A McDonald's in Shanghai has begun deploying humanoid robots (from KEENON Robotics) to serve customers.
> These humanoid robots provide information, greet guests, and help enliven the atmosphere.
> Food delivery robots serve meals to customers and collect used trays.
in the… pic.twitter.com/IEFzucz3IE
— CyberRobo (@CyberRobooo) March 18, 2026
But that caption is misleading. As Futurism notes, McDonald’s executive Jon Banner clarified that “the robots were part of the grand opening of the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum restaurant,” and visitors can’t see them anymore since they were only at this particular McDonald’s location from March 14-17.
“The robots were requested by the museum to draw attention through a temporary greeting,” Banner tweeted. “Mission accomplished! The robots were not involved in any service or operational functions. And if you didn’t visit prior to today, you missed them.”
The dream of having restaurants fully staffed by robots has been around for roughly a century now. Illustrators of the 1930s imagined robots that poured coffee or took off your coat before you ate. And by the 1980s, some restaurants were even experimenting with expensive robots that could be driven around carrying food.
The Two-Panda Deli in Pasadena, California, famously bought two Japanese-built robots to do just that in the early 1980s, and they were quite a hit for locals who wanted a taste of the future. Grazie’s Italian Restaurant in Tokyo, Japan, had a similar robotic server in the mid-1980s, though it was arguably less cute since it didn’t have any features that might be similar to a face. Neither of the restaurants used robots with any degree of autonomy, however, and they only worked through remote control.
But we’re seeing a new explosion of robots in restaurants here in the 2020s, even if they can sometimes go haywire.
How likely is it that humanoid robots will completely replace human workers at fast food restaurants? Nobody can answer that with any certainty at this point. But robotics companies like Figure are making some incredibly impressive video demonstrations.
Figure 03. Impressive. 🤖🦾🦿@adcock_brett pic.twitter.com/RBMz4piIgQ
— Marc Benioff (@Benioff) March 24, 2026
There are still plenty of restaurant executives who would like to replace every member of their staff with a robot. But they have yet to prove they could be reliable enough and, perhaps more importantly, cheap enough. In the meantime, it seems much more likely we’ll see AI injected into more and more aspects of the fast food experience. At least until someone figures out how to order 18,000 waters at Taco Bell again.
English (US) ·