According to an article by The Verge, Burger King is implementing a new AI chatbot for staff, not only to help with daily tasks such as preparing your next Whopper or keeping track of inventory, as it is directly linked to the ordering system, but also to monitor employees' voices to detect friendliness.
The AI is trained to recognise speech patterns related to standard phrases, from "please" and "thank you" to the classic "welcome to Burger King," as if it knows how an enthusiastic minimum-wage worker should sound.
The AI programme, named "Patty," will, in short, help managers monitor the friendliness of their staff.
Thibault Roux, Chief Digital Officer, told The Verge that it is "a training tool," while admitting that it can also detect tone in conversations, alerting managers to non-constructive workplace talk.
Other parts of the AI are more business-specific, such as helping with the ingredients of each product or remembering how to clean specific pieces of kitchen equipment, making daily work more efficient and consistent.
Patty is already being used in 500 restaurants in the US, with plans for full nationwide integration by the end of the year.