Published May 17, 2026 at 12:00 PM
The Verge
May 18, 2026, 6:00 AM
Chatbots at the drive-thru are just the beginning

This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more news about how AI is seeping into our daily lives, follow Emma Roth. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here. How it started In 2021, McDonald's became one of the first major fast-food chains to…
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