McDonald's plans to increase its investments in AI by 2027, with India positioned as a central hub for data governance, engineering and platform architecture, as reported by Reuters.

The fast food chain, which has been operating in India since 1996, runs hundreds of restaurants across the country and has established a global office in Hyderabad, in the Indian state of Telangana, aiming to make this the largest outside the US.

As part of its AI initiatives, McDonald's is implementing technology to verify orders at 400 locations to minimise errors before orders reach customers.

The company anticipates expanding this system to 40,000 restaurants worldwide by 2027, according to global offices technology head Durga Prakash.

The focus of McDonald's efforts in India will be on building its AI team, with a greater emphasis on tech and tools rather than increasing headcount.

The company is also exploring the establishment of a global office in Poland, similar to its operations in India and Mexico.

It is leveraging AI tools for operational aspects such as sales forecasting, pricing strategies and product performance evaluation.

The company is also developing a personalised app to function across multiple countries.

In early 2025, the government of Telangana announced that McDonald's would launch a global capability centre in Hyderabad, creating 2,000 jobs.

In August 2024, McDonald's India – North and East announced its intention to utilise generative AI for the creation of its Signature Collection Gourmet Burgers.

The brand introduced its "Imagined in AI" campaign, which involved the development of gourmet burgers through a combination of customer input and AI-generated visuals.