Job-to-go? McDonald’s is now accepting smart speaker applications

Have you ever found yourself thinking: “hey, I wish I could apply to that job at the local fast food restaurant using a voice command.” Nah, us either. But now, if that happens to be a thought that regularly crosses your mind, you’ll be pleased to hear that prospective McDonald’s employees can do just that using the new ‘Apply Thru’ technology as part of Google Assistant and Alexa.

A concept that makes you feel lazy just thinking about it, the technology allows owners of Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant devices to begin job applications using the simple “Alexa” and “Ok Google” voice commands. Because opening your laptop can sometimes feel like too much effort.

Apparently McDonald’s hope that it will make entry-level jobs more accessible to a younger generation.

Downside? You can’t actually complete the process using your home device (which feels a little counter-intuitive if you ask us).

“After beginning the experience via Alexa or the Google Assistant, all they’ll need to do is answer a few basic questions out loud,” notes the McDonald’s press release. “They’ll receive a text, following their responses to these questions, with a link to complete the application process online. Simple as that.”

The innovation comes in response to a tough couple of years for the fast-food giant, battling against a tide of healthy eating trends and emerging fast-food competitors.

It’s not the first step the company has taken towards embracing AI technology. It was only a couple of years ago that McDonald’s finally announced it was to make its food deliverable via UberEats - recently giving away free burger-themed loungewear as part of the partnership - in addition to become a partner on the new UberEats drone delivery trial in San Diego this summer.

Despite making job applications easier to begin using the new AI application process, it does feel a little counter intuitive, particularly given McDonald’s recent investment in kitchen robots and voice-activated drive-thru systems that would make the humans they’re employing redundant.

Either way, Apply Thru sounds like an interesting concept that could work for countless other careers - and yet another string to add to Alexa and Google Assistant’s bow.