When AI advice reaches the restaurant table, staff face the fallout
Workers interviewed by The Verge describe customers relying on chatbot claims and plans that conflict with staff advice, maps and available services.
Customer service workers say generative AI is bringing fabricated claims and impractical requests into everyday interactions. The Verge reports accounts from restaurant, park and childcare workers, though it provides no systematic data on how common the incidents are.
Madison, a New York server who withheld her surname, says diners have disputed warnings that dishes contain shellfish, citing ChatGPT. She also says customers have requested wines the restaurant does not carry, or that may not exist, and increasingly turn to ChatGPT instead of a sommelier.
A river ranger identified by the pseudonym Jason told The Verge that visitors have arrived with AI-generated itineraries listing nonexistent campsites or routes requiring boats to row upstream. Some groups remained sceptical even after staff explained the problems using a map, he said.
Casey, an after-school programme teacher in New York, described parents relying on ChatGPT for a child’s bedtime routine and sleep schedule despite her concern that the child was not getting enough sleep. She estimated the child needed two to three more hours each night, based on his behaviour in the programme.
Restaurant manager Lauren Wilford said her restaurant has received calls and emails from apparent AI agents seeking reservations. She suspects an agent may have made last-minute requests for event equipment and menu changes, but said she could not verify their source.
