Burger King introduces Patty, an innovative AI-powered assistant that helps employees manage tasks, provide exceptional customer service, and assess their friendliness. You might wonder how it works – Patty lives inside employees’ headsets, allowing them to ask questions, receive valuable information, and get coaching on their interactions with customers.
What is Patty?
Patty is part of Burger King’s overarching BK Assistant platform, which collects data from various operations, including drive-through conversations, inventory, and sales. The AI assistant uses this data to analyze patterns and provide insights to employees and managers, helping restaurants manage complexities and focus on providing a great guest experience.
How Does Patty Work?
Employees can activate Patty by pressing a small button on their headset and asking direct questions related to their specific store, such as recent sales figures or inventory updates. Patty responds with verbal answers, much like a virtual assistant. She also analyzes employee interactions with customers, tracking the use of key phrases like “Welcome to Burger King,” “Please,” and “Thank you.”
Addressing Concerns
You might be concerned about employee surveillance, but Burger King assures us that Patty is not being used to analyze individual employees’ performance. Instead, it’s designed to provide a kind of coaching, helping employees improve their customer service skills. As Thibault Roux, Burger King’s chief digital officer, puts it, “Guests want our service to be more friendly, and that’s ultimately what we’re trying to achieve here.”
Rollout and Future Plans
Patty is currently in a pilot phase at approximately 500 Burger King restaurants across the US. With its potential to improve customer service, it’s likely that Patty will be rolled out to more locations. As AI technology continues to evolve, you can expect to see more innovative applications like Patty in the future.
The Future of Customer Service
By providing employees with real-time information and coaching, Burger King is hoping to improve the overall customer experience. As AI-powered customer service continues to grow, it’s clear that this technology is here to stay. You might wonder if AI can really help employees be more friendly – the answer lies in the success of Patty and similar initiatives.
Conclusion
Patty seems to be a win-win for both employees and customers. By providing a more personalized and friendly experience, Burger King is setting itself up for long-term success. As AI technology continues to evolve, it will be exciting to see how Patty and other AI-powered assistants like it continue to shape the customer service landscape.
