Artificial intelligence (AI) is everywhere, be it your home, car or your workplace. And now, even at Burger King. The fast-food chain is reportedly testing new AI-powered handsets that not only help employees but also rate their ‘friendliness’ to customers.
The new AI platform, named BK assistant, is powered by OpenAI. Currently, this system is in a pilot phase in about 500 restaurants across the United States. In these outlets, employees get to wear AI-powered headsets that feature a new AI chatbot, named “Patty.” Here is how it works.
AI to monitor how friendly staff is at Burger King
Burger King Chief Digital Officer, Thibault Roux, told The Verge that the AI system was designed to recognise certain words and phrases, such as “welcome to Burger King,” “please,” and “thank you.” This will allow managers to then understand how “friendly” their staff is based on the number of such phrases recognised by the headsets.
Apart from this friendliness score, ‘Patty’ helps employees with menu preparation tips, reminds staff how to assemble items, and flags low inventory.
Will Burger King’s AI record my conversations?
However, Burger King claims that the headsets do not record any interactions, and don’t individually monitor each staff member. Instead, Burger King says the platform uses ‘aggregated keywords, such as common hospitality phrases’ to assess overall team service.
Burger King maintains that the tool is ‘designed to streamline restaurant operations’ rather than single out staff. Roux explained, “This is all meant to be a coaching tool.”
But how does this AI work?
A demonstration at Restaurant Brands International’s recent investor event highlighted how the tool operates in real time. The chatbot Patty notified a worker that a machine was running low on Diet Coke and assisted with recipe reminders.
In another instance, ‘Patty’ told an employee, “The team’s friendliness scores this morning were the highest this week.” Managers can request a location’s or shift’s friendliness score, but the precise metrics driving these scores remain opaque.
Other fast-food brands are also exploring AI-driven services. Chains under Yum Brands, such as Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, have announced partnerships to develop similar tools, which could raise more concerns over privacy and monitoring.
