Burger King installs an AI to help (but especially to monitor) its employees.

Employees of hundreds of Burger King North American restaurants will have to live with a bug. 'Patty' is an AI assistant that will install itself in the staff's headsets: it will listen to conversations and encourage them to be more attentive to customers.

"Patty," the AI coach that listens to employees

Managers can also consult the assistant to understand the sentiment of their restaurant's hospitality. The tool can also remind how to prepare orders, alert during stock shortages, indicate that restrooms need cleaning, and suggest additional products to increase the average basket size.

Patrick Doyle, president of Restaurant Brands International (RBI), the parent company of the fast-food chain, expressed joy about this innovation: "It's extraordinary. It completely changes the way restaurants are managed," he stated during the company's annual shareholder day.

The staff might view this monitoring with a bad eye, as the goal is clear: "Are the employees friendly? Do they say 'hello'? Do they thank customers for coming to Burger King?" explained the leader during the same meeting. RBI presents Patty as a coaching tool, to standardize service quality on a large scale within a widely franchised network. Especially at a time when the company plans to open between 300 to 400 additional restaurants per year in North America.

"Patty" operates based on an OpenAI model. It is currently in testing phase in 500 restaurants across the United States, before being rolled out more widely by the end of the year. Beyond the "spy" aspect of this AI, which evokes a scenario worthy of Black Mirror, there is also concern that restaurants may lose efficiency.

Employees indeed have to deal with a small voice in their head explaining how to do their job while they are already serving customers. Not easy to concentrate when two people are talking at the same time! In an industry where speed is paramount (after all, it's a fast food), it's unclear whether this is a good idea.

The other downside concerns data. What happens to the conversations captured between employees and customers? Are the customers aware that they are being listened to by Patty? Questions to which RBI has not yet provided answers.

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Source : The Verge