Burger King is launching an AI chatbot that will live in headsets used by employees. The voice-enabled chatbot, called “Patty,” is part of a broader BK Assistant platform that will not only assist employees in preparing food but also rate their interactions with customers for “friendliness.”
Thibault Roux, Chief Digital Officer at Burger King, explains The Verge The company compiled information from franchisees and guests on how to measure friendliness, resulting in the fast food chain training its AI system to recognize certain words and phrases, such as “Welcome to Burger King,” “Please,” and “Thank you.” Managers can then ask the AI assistant how their location is performing in terms of friendliness. “It’s all meant as a coaching tool,” Roux says, adding that the company is also “iterating” on capturing the tone of the conversation.
OpenAI-powered Patty serves as the “voice” of the BK Assistant platform, connecting data across drive-thru conversations, kitchen equipment, inventory and other areas of the Burger King business. Employees can ask Patty questions, such as how many strips of bacon to put on a Maple Bourbon BBQ Whopper, or instructions on how to clean the shake machine.
Because it is integrated with new cloud point-of-sale systems, the AI assistant will also alert managers if a machine is down for maintenance or when an item is out of stock. “Within 15 minutes, the entire ecosystem will destock it — whether you’re going to a restaurant to order from a kiosk, whether you’re going to the drive-thru, the digital menu board will be updated,” Roux says.
Burger King may be building a chatbot into employees’ headsets, but it doesn’t seem like the brand is ready to widely launch AI drive-thru just yet — something we’ve seen at chains like McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Taco Bell. “We’re tinkering with it, we’re playing with it, but it’s still a risky bet,” Roux says. “Not every guest is ready for this.” He says the company is currently testing AI drive-thru technology in less than 100 restaurants.
Burger King plans to launch its BK Assistant web and app platform in all US restaurants by the end of 2026, while the patty is testing it in 500 restaurants.
