--- title: "Burger King Adding AI to Employees’ Headsets to Constantly Monitor Whether They’re Being Friendly Enough" description: "Instead of infuriating customers at drive-thrus, Burger King is looking to exasperate its existing employees with AI instead." date: "2026-02-26" modified: "2026-02-26" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/burger-king-adding-ai-employees-headsets" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Ethics" --- # Burger King Adding AI to Employees’ Headsets to Constantly Monitor Whether They’re Being Friendly Enough ![Instead of infuriating customers at drive-thrus, Burger King is looking to exasperate its existing employees with AI instead.]() *Getty / Futurism* Fast food franchises have struggled to reliably [replace drive-thru employees with AI chatbots](), resulting in abundant corporate frustration. Not only are customers being driven mad by the bots [getting orders completely wrong](), but even some company executives are also [being worn down by]() the flailing effort. Some major players in the space, like McDonald's, have [given up on their AI-powered drive-thru efforts]() entirely, signaling that perhaps employing human workers may be a wiser long-term investment. Taco Bell soon followed suit, [announcing]() it was rethinking the idea after a clip of a customer crashing the system by ordering 18,000 cups of water went viral. Burger King, though, isn't quite ready to give up on AI just yet. Instead of infuriating customers at drive-thrus, the company is looking to exasperate its existing employees with the tech instead. As [*The Verge* reports](), the franchise is launching an OpenAI-powered chatbot, dubbed "Patty," that will speak to the staffers through the headsets they're required to wear. Worst of all, the company is using the AI to monitor words and phrases, such as "welcome to Burger King," "please," and 'thank you." Managers can then use that data to gauge the friendliness of their staff. "This is all meant to be a coaching tool," Burger King’s chief digital officer Thibault Roux told *The Verge* in a statement, arguing that the company is "iterating" on having its AI police the tone of its employees in the future. The overarching "BK Assistant" platform that Patty will serve as the voice for will have access to a wide variety of data points, such as the state of its kitchen equipment or available inventory. For instance, as Roux explained, an item could be listed as out of stock "within 15 minutes," and be reflected on digital menu boards throughout a restaurant. Meanwhile, an AI-powered drive-thru isn't quite in the cards for Burger King just yet. "We’re tinkering with it, we’re playing around with it, but it’s still a risky bet," Roux told *The Verge*. "Not every guest is ready for this." **More on AI drive-thrus:** [*Taco Bell’s Attempt to Replace Drive-Thru Employees With AI Is Not Going Well* ]() ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()