Burger King is rolling out an AI chatbot to work alongside employees in its restaurants — and it’s coming to Canada.
The so-called ‘Patty’ AI, also known as BK Assistant, will land in Canada in the second half of 2026. Per The Canadian Press (via the Toronto Star), Patty is a voice-based assistant that will be added to the headsets staff wear and will listen in on their conversations. Naturally, Patty is powered by OpenAI.
Burger King will pilot Patty in 500 restaurants in the U.S. before expanding it to all U.S. locations and most Canadian locations by the end of 2026.
Speaking to The Verge, company chief digital officer Thibault Roux said its BK Assistant platform will both assist employees with meal preparation and evaluate their interactions with customers to determine “friendliness.”
The latter point, which he says is intended to be a “coaching tool,” will monitor whether employees use terms like “welcome to Burger King,” “please,” and “thank you.” Managers will then be able to ask the AI assistant how friendly employees are being in their location. AI will also be used to alert leadership of issues like system errors or item shortages.
Interestingly, though, BK says it’s not currently planning to launch AI-powered drive-thrus, which we’ve seen piloted at fast food chains like McDonald’s and Taco Bell. Roux notes that BK is “tinkering” with this technology in fewer than 100 restaurants, but acknowledged it’s a “risky bet” and that “not every guest is ready for this.”
Ultimately, Burger King says it aims to roll out the AI assistant at all U.S. restaurants by the end of 2026. It’s unclear if there are plans for an international rollout, so presumably, the company is waiting to see how the U.S. testing goes first.
Of course, it should be noted that AI has presented numerous problems in the food industry, leading McDonald’s to actually end its tests of the tech. This came about after multiple viral incidents in which AI drive thrus would add incorrect items or mix up orders entirely. And in the case of BK’s tests, it remains to be seen how accurately AI will be able to gauge “friendliness.”
Burger King is owned by Restaurant Brands International (RBI), which also owns Canadian favourite Tim Hortons, as well as Popeyes and Firehouse Subs.
Image credit: Burger King
Source: The Canadian Press (via the Toronto Star), The Verge
