Burger King to test AI chatbot Patty in employee headsets.

Burger King plans to test an OpenAI-powered chatbot called Patty in employee headsets at about 500 locations to provide meal-prep tips and track friendliness; the company says the effort is experimental and fewer than 100 restaurants currently test drive‑thru AI.

Burger King plans to introduce an AI chatbot named Patty that will speak to employees through headsets as part of its BK Assistant platform. The platform is reported to be powered by OpenAI and collects drive‑thru conversation data. Company officials describe Patty as a coaching tool that can offer tips on cooking and cleaning and identify basic friendliness markers during interactions. Tests are planned across about 500 locations, and the company says fewer than 100 restaurants are already trying AI in drive‑thru operations. Key details: - Patty is reported to be an OpenAI-powered chatbot intended to communicate with employees via headsets as part of BK Assistant. - BK Assistant collects drive‑thru conversation data and Burger King says it plans broader platform installation before the end of the year. - The company describes Patty as a coaching tool that can offer meal‑preparation and equipment‑cleaning tips and recognize phrases such as greetings and polite words. - Tests for Patty are planned across roughly 500 locations, while under 100 restaurants currently test AI in drive‑thru operations. - Burger King has called the implementation experimental and "a risky bet," noting not every guest may be ready for it. - Early online reactions have included criticism and comparisons to fictional social‑rating scenarios such as those in Black Mirror. Summary: Burger King describes Patty as a coaching feature and plans to continue testing the system across about 500 locations before any wider rollout. The reporting notes the platform will provide managers with friendliness metrics and that the company is exploring further capabilities such as tone analysis. Online responses have been mixed and Burger King characterizes the effort as experimental.