Customer films ‘scary' new AI feature at Hungry Jack's
A fast food customer was left shocked after driving into a Hungry Jack's drive-through, only to be greeted by an AI (artificial intelligence) voice assistant.
He took to TikTok to document the bizarre experience in a clip that has since gone viral with nearly 400k views.
The video begins with the AI robot speaking to the driver through a digital screen. 'What can I get you?' the female voice assistant asks.
The driver, shocked, replies, 'Are you AI?' to which it responded, 'I'm Hungry Jacks' virtual helper'.
He then mumbles under his breath, 'That's so cooked,' and proceeds with his order – a large ultimate double whopper meal.
@pnuks
Rip teenagers wanting a job at @Hungry Jack's 🥲😅💀 ai aijobs hungryjacks hungryjacksfreeglass work employed drivethru
♬ original sound - pnuks
The AI assistant confirms, 'Did you want double whopper?' and the customer clarifies he wants the large ultimate double whopper.
The robot responds casually, 'Sure,' before asking if he wants his meal with Coke.
'Oh God no,' he replies, taken aback by the drink suggestion.
He asks for an orange juice with no ice, and the assistant says, 'Okay,' before he adds another cheeseburger to his order.
The AI helper then asks if there's anything else the driver wants before displaying the total bill on the screen and instructing him to go to the next window.
'God, that's so scary,' he says before ending the clip.
He wrote in the caption: 'They just installed this last week'.
Hungry Jack's confirmed the news, telling news.com.au that the trial is happening in one specific Sydney store only.
'Hungry Jack's is trialling a new digital voice-activated customer ordering system at the St Peters restaurant drive-through,' a statement read.
'The test aims to determine the effectiveness of the technology in delivering service improvements. Customer feedback will be sought during the trial period.
'It is anticipated that the trial will be rolled out to additional restaurants in the coming months.'
In the comments of the clip, many viewers expressed their unease at the new technology, with several echoing the customer's own reaction of being 'scared' by the robot.
Some users joked about the end of an era for teenage fast-food jobs, saying: 'How will kids get job experience with these jobs being replaced?'
'You can't convince me all this investment in AI is cheaper than paying real wages,' someone else wrote.
Others were outright against the change, with one user saying, 'I hate it' and 'We are doomed'.
'I'm turning into a boomer and driving straight to the window because absolutely not am I doing that,' someone else admitted.
'I hate AI, it's a joke,' another naysayer wrote.
'This is so sad,' another noted, as someone else declared, 'We do not need this'.
Others raised accessibility concerns: 'People with accents, we are going to have a hard time with this! Even Siri struggles to understand me'.
Meanwhile, some said they were unimpressed with the AI assistant's 'attitude'.
'It's so slow!' quipped one. 'Why is it so rude?' another asked.
'It's so passive aggressive with the 'okay',' said yet another TikToker.
However, others were more on board with the concept and even thought the AI was polite.
'I like that she didn't rush you,' said one.
Someone else pointed out that the technology will be great to reduce the amount of staff who have to work overnight.
It comes after McDonald's ended its test of AI chatbots at drive-throughs in 100 locations around the US in July last year.
The burger chain removed the AI-based order systems, giving no public reason for ending its test run, according to Restaurant Business.
But it came amid reports of a string of mistakes with diners' meals – with customers saying they often received things they didn't order, according to The New York Post.
Some of the mistakes included adding nine sweet teas to one customer's order and giving another customer an ice cream cone with bacon on top.
Just months later, KFC Australia began trialling AI drive-through technology in five restaurants across the country, including South Penrith, Wetherill Park, Mt Druitt, Minto, and Frenchs Forest.
Its name was Kacy, but despite the personification, the chain assured no jobs were being replaced by the technology.
It appears to still be up and running, according to users on TikTok.
In October, Australia's healthy fast-food chain Oliver's also introduced an AI drive-through assistant, Ollie, in a bid to shorten wait times.
According to QSR, it is the world's first 'contextually aware' AI drive-through order taker.
This means it can engage in unscripted, natural conversations and understands a wide range of accents and dialects.
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