Overview
- The company is testing Patty in roughly 500 U.S. locations and plans to make the BK Assistant web and app platform available nationwide by the end of 2026, with separate AI drive‑thru trials running in fewer than 100 restaurants.
- Patty serves as the voice of BK Assistant, tying together point‑of‑sale, inventory, equipment status, and drive‑thru audio so managers get real‑time alerts and menus auto‑update within about 15 minutes when items are unavailable.
- Burger King trained the system to detect phrases such as “welcome to Burger King,” “please,” and “thank you” to generate aggregate friendliness signals for managers, and says it is not designed to score individual employees or enforce scripts.
- The company says the assistant listens to drive‑thru interactions from a customer’s arrival to when the car leaves, collecting service data during that window rather than recording all employee conversations.
- Coverage highlights swift public criticism over workplace monitoring and wage priorities, while Burger King emphasizes Patty’s role in operational support and hospitality coaching.