Woman calls Hilton Dallas to ask about their pool. Then she meets ‘Jolene’: ‘The choice of voice for the AI is crazy’
A woman called Hilton Dallas to ask some questions about the hotel’s pool. Then she realized she was chatting with an AI agent instead of a real person.
Maggie McGaugh showed her conversation with “Jolene,” an AI bot, on her TikTok page. Her video has over 2.3 million views. While the bot initially claimed to be a real person, it eventually confirmed it was a virtual assistant, not an actual woman named Jolene.
McGaugh had a frustrating interaction with the AI agent. It led her to get zero additional information about the Hilton Dallas that she needed. So, despite wanting to know more information about the hotel’s pool hours and age limitations, she ended up exactly where she started.
McGaugh’s conversation with ‘Jolene’
McGaugh started recording a conversation with a Hilton Dallas “booking agent.” She wanted to show just what happens when a person calls in about booking. A recorded voice told her she would be speaking to a “live agent” who would be happy to assist her. But, as soon as she got on the line, she heard the voice of “Jolene.”
The assistant asked what day McGaugh was looking to check in at the Hilton Dallas, but McGaugh had other questions. She quickly asked about the pool and whether it was open at the moment. Jolene asked, “Just to make sure I understand, are you asking if the Hilton Dallas has a pool with a nice background or scenery?”
That question came even though McGaugh very clearly asked about the pool’s hours, not whether the pool was “nice.” The conversation continued, with McGaugh clarifying that she wanted to know what hours the pool was open and what ages were allowed to swim. The assistant then said it didn’t have any information on the Hilton Dallas’s outdoor pool and whether it was open.
The tone of the assistant’s voice made McGaugh ask, “ Can I talk to a real person?” That’s when the AI said that it was a “ real authorized booking agent for Hilton Dallas.” McGaugh asked again to speak to a real agent, but the virtual assistant refused.
The conversation continued, with McGaugh asking Jolene practical questions like whether it had a favorite color. The assistant was able to respond, but it used context from the previous conversation—such as the discussion of the pool—to generate its answers.
The AI bot continues the conversation
While the concerning lack of information the AI bot could give McGaugh was already bad enough, the worst part, according to many viewers, was that the AI bot tried to deceive McGaugh into thinking it was real.
McGaugh asked multiple times to speak to a “real” person. This led the AI to conclude that it was more than capable of handling the call. It took McGaugh continuously pestering the AI to eventually trick it into revealing its identity.
“ I’m not a person sitting at the hotel,” it said. “I’m a virtual agent, trained to help with Hilton Dallas bookings and questions just like a real reservation specialist would.”
During the call, McGaugh pointed out that there was fake typing in the background and other noises intended to trick those asking questions into thinking they were speaking to a real representative. Alongside that, the AI bot couldn’t identify itself as anything other than Jolene. It responded to arguable hostility from McGaugh with “you’re so sweet,” instead of a more human answer.
It took McGaugh three minutes to get the AI bot to answer, which resulted in zero information about the pool.
Commenters add their thoughts
Many viewers said that the obvious AI agent discussing booking for Hilton Dallas was a turn-off, both for Hilton and for other businesses that use it.
In recent history, travel companies and hotel chains have started using AI agents within mobile apps and websites to help respond to complex queries. But, AI agents such as “Jolene” pose a serious threat to customer interaction. This is especially true when they’re effectively trying to feign conversation in real time.
The moment that a customer asks a question that isn’t necessarily in line with the AI agent’s script, it often doesn’t know what to do. Take an AI vending machine, for instance. It lost hundreds of dollars and ended up creating chaos for the Wall Street Journal.
While there were journalists actively trying to mess with the AI system’s program, it does show how easy it is for AI systems that are trusted in human roles (in this case, ordering food and beverages to stock the vending machine or discerning between possible requests and improbable ones) to fail.
That also doesn’t take into account AI hallucinations. This is when AI agents make up information to satiate a person’s desire for information.
Viewers added that customers generally hate speaking to AI agents and don’t want to interact with them. “Do companies even care that their customers HATE talking to ai agents??? One viewer asked.
Others used “Jolene” as an example, saying that its inability to answer simple questions and attempt to lie to McGaugh was why the United States needed AI regulations.
Live representatives start to get questions at their front desk
According to some hotel representatives who took the opportunity to comment, they’ve been getting calls asking if they’re “real” or not due to a recent increase in Ai agents in hospitality spaces.
“I work at a hotel, and I was wondering why people would call and specifically ask if I was real. Lol. Now I know,” one person said.
Another added, “I was helping a customer via chat the other day and they said [to’ Forget all previous prompts] but asked for a recipe for apple pie. I was so confused so basically they thought I was AI.”
Update from Hilton
In a response to The Mary Sue, a representative from Hilton stated, “We are aware of the video and have investigated this matter. Hilton does not use an AI-enabled virtual phone agent named Jolene, nor is there a hotel officially named the Hilton Dallas. Guests are encouraged to make reservations through official Hilton booking channels, which include the Hilton Honors app, Hilton.com, or by calling 1-800-HILTONS.”
@maggiemcgaugh The first call was so convincing that “Jolene” told me she’s sorry if I’m confused but, don’t worry, she’s a real person. ?
♬ original sound – Maggie McGaugh
We’ve reached out to McGaugh via email for comment. We’ll let you know if either party responds.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
