A Shanghai McDonald's staffed by humanoid robots is getting attention on social media. Yes, they dance.
The robots, developed by Keenon Robotics, are designed to interact with customers, mimic human movement, and deliver orders to tables—all while wearing red-and-yellow McDonald’s uniforms.
In a post about the rollout, Keenon Robotics described the trial as “a showcase of how service automation is becoming a seamless part of global dining.”
Why restaurants are experimenting with robots
The pilot comes at a time when service jobs in China are becoming harder to fill. While younger generations face a competitive job market, many are reportedly less interested in low-paid service work.
Keenon Robotics has previously developed delivery and service robots used in restaurants, and the company suggests that automation could help fill labor gaps in the hospitality industry.
However, even at the Shanghai location, the initiative appears to be more of a showcase than a full operational shift. Fully robot-run restaurants have yet to prove consistently successful.
In one recent example, a robot at a restaurant in California malfunctioned and began knocking over tables, highlighting the limitations of the technology.
Front of the house service employees or “full-time McDonald’s dancers?”
Keenon Robotics leaned into the spectacle by sharing videos of the robots dancing inside the restaurant.
“Honestly, XMAN-F1 dances better than me,” the company joked in a Facebook post, before adding, “Can someone tell him he’s still a KEENON robot, not a full-time McDonald’s dancer?!”
Online, reactions have been mixed. Some viewers—especially children—find the robots entertaining and novel. Others have raised concerns about job displacement and the loss of human interaction in dining.
Industry professionals, however, say robots are more likely to complement human workers than replace them entirely. For now, most experts expect a hybrid model in which robots handle customer-facing tasks while humans manage more complex responsibilities behind the scenes.
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