When you call a restaurant, you might be chatting with an AI host
by WIRED from Ars Technica - All content on (#6QXNQ)
Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | Juj Winn)
A pleasant female voice greets me over the phone. Hi, I'm an assistant named Jasmine for Bodega," the voice says. How can I help?"
Do you have patio seating," I ask. Jasmine sounds a little sad as she tells me that unfortunately, the San Francisco-based Vietnamese restaurant doesn't have outdoor seating. But her sadness isn't the result of her having a bad day. Rather, her tone is a feature, a setting.
Jasmine is a member of a new, growing clan: the AI voice restaurant host. If you recently called up a restaurant in New York City, Miami, Atlanta, or San Francisco, chances are you have spoken to one of Jasmine's polite, calculated competitors.