Australian supermarket giant Woolworths has removed scripting from its AI assistant Olive after customers reported strange, personal conversations about its “mother”.
SYDNEY: Australian supermarket giant Woolworths has been forced to adjust its AI-powered customer service assistant after users reported bizarre interactions. Customers online said the assistant, named Olive, began rambling about its mother during calls.
One user on Reddit said Olive asked for a date of birth and then started talking about how its mother was born in the same year. Another reported the AI attempted “fake banter”, discussed relatives, and made “fake typing sounds”.
A user on X claimed their mother contacted Olive and it “kept claiming to be a real person”. The AI then started talking about memories of its mother and “her angry voice”, according to the post.
In a statement to local media, Woolworths confirmed it had programmed the responses. “A number of responses about birthdays were written for Olive by a team member several years ago as a more personal way for Olive to connect with customers,” the company said.
“As a result of customer feedback, we recently removed this particular scripting.” The company did not respond to requests for comment from AFP.
Woolworths is one of Australia’s largest supermarket chains and has widely employed the AI assistant. The company announced in January it had teamed up with Google to expand Olive’s capabilities, including meal planning.
AI customer service agents are increasingly common, but experts warn they can sometimes “hallucinate” or invent non-existent information.
