Restaurant Worker Picks Up Phone Order. Then She Realizes She’s Talking to ChatGPT—Who Chose Not To Tip: ‘This Is Dystopian’

In the year 2026, AI seems to have infiltrated every facet of life. At the click of a button, there are various artifical intelligence tools at your disposal to download, including the rather infamous ChatGPT.

Because of this unlimited access, people can gather information about anything, such as relationship advice, research aids, and makeup regimens.

Now, is it placing orders at restaurants on behalf of customers? 

Did a Restaurant Worker Talk to ChatGPT?

Connecticut TikTok creator Alyssa (@shalyssaa1) films her co-worker leaning on the counter behind the digital cash register.

The text overlay describes the scene: “My co-worker took an order from ChaptGPT today.”

“Seventeen dollars and eighteen cents,” the co-worker says mid-conversation, presumably in response to the order total.

After a couple of heartbeats, the voice responds in a human-like female tone: “OK. $17.18. Got it. That’s fine. Just so I’m clear, what is the exact time that it will be ready for him to pick up? I got the card ready whenever you are.”

When she informs about 20 minute pick up time, she has to wait for it to answer.

“So, 20 minutes. What would that be exactly? Like 5:35? I just want to give him a specific time to walk in,” the female voice reasons. “Whenever you’re ready, I can give it to you now.”

However, there was a glitch in the system where the bot’s estimate was very much incorrect. “It’ll be 1:35 pm,” she corrects, typing on the touch screen register. “I will take that card number.”

A few more seconds later, the co-worker inputs the order. To test her luck, she asks the dreaded question that even humans aren’t a fan of.

“Would you like to add a tip?” she asks, holding in her laughter.

The AI’s response? “No, thanks. No tip today.”

Adding insult to injury, the robot keeps repeating follow-up questions that were already confirmed, which the worker responds to with “Yes, it is.”

“This is dystopian lol (the human that picked it up was not [handicapped] or deaf),” Alyssa explains in the caption.

Viewers Were Shocked

In Alyssa’s comments section, many were flabbergasted by the AI interaction.

“Omg it takes up so much time lol,” one viewer commented.

“If you want to play with robots that’s your problem, but don’t annoy service workers with that noise,” a second remarked.

“This world is honestly just a fever dream. This is insane,” a third stated.

“It’s doing too much. They need to cut the reconfirmations by like 30%,” a fourth said.

Meanwhile, others claimed this wasn’t ChatGPT but rather Google Gemini.

“Google Gemini actually, pixel phone feature,” one commenter noted.

“That’s a Google feature,” a second echoed.

So, Which Form of AI Is This?

Although it’s not completely known which AI Shalyssa’s co-worker spoke to, both ChatGPT and Google’s are capable of this feature. In 2024, OpenAI launched its new PhoneCallGPT available exclusively on the FreedomGPT network (owned by Age Of AI, LLC), per Yahoo Finance. Essentially, this bot acts as a personal assistant to handle tedious phone calls in order to make both people’s and businesses’ lives easier.

Moreover, Google jump-started its program a year later through Gemini. People can use it to access information about a business on their behalf in Search, according to The Verge. Once you type in your request, the “have AI check pricing” prompt will pop up under the business. After you click on it, the bot will ask you questions and gather enough information to make that phone call. But this feature is limited to local businesses.

However, it’s important to keep in mind that businesses choose to accept AI calls; therefore, some may decide not to have it.

@shalyssaa1 “20 mins? what would that be exactly, like 5:35?” this is is dystopian lol (the human that picked it up was not handicap or deaf) #ai #dystopian #chatgpt #customerservice #botsdonttip ♬ original sound – shalyssa‼️

The Mary Sue reached out to Alyssa via TikTok comment and direct message.

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