I got my license in 2015 so never in my life have I had the apparently ubiquitous American experience of queuing at the DMV and filling in paper forms. (is this still real? or limited to stand-up comedy?)
My recent experience was: sign up online and get a 30 min window (9:00-9:30 say). Queue everyone for that 30 minute window outside the building. At exactly 9:30, enter and go through the usual queues inside. The advantage is that getting through those queues now takes 30 minutes or less because their length is limited. Presumably we/they traded volume of processing for certainty of time spent in the queue. A very familiar tradeoff for a computer scientist.
The only times you have to come in are:
1. for your first license, either as a newly-licensed driver or an out-of-state driver who recently moved
2. if you were bad and broke the law or otherwise had your license cancelled/revoked/suspended
Even those people have to call or go online to make an appointment.
All other tasks from getting/returning plates to requesting a duplicate title can be done online, though drop boxes, or by mail.
I have been to the DMV three times since 1995: once to turn my out-of-state license into an in-state one, once to turn that drivers license into a realID-compliant one, and once to have my fingerprints taken for a concealed carry permit.
It’s often a mishmash of services too. I was told in-person at the DMV that I couldn’t renew my registration since I’m not the registered owner of my car. So I just went to a DMV kiosk at the local grocery store and did it there without a hassle.