An artificial intelligence chatbot in Australia was recently fixed after it started unexpectedly sharing personal stories about its ‘mother’ and family with customers while they were shopping online.
I’ve noticed AI is everywhere now! It feels like it’s quietly becoming a part of just about everything I do. In some jobs, it’s helping people get their work done, but honestly, it’s also replacing folks in other industries. And whenever I’m shopping online, there’s always some kind of AI assistant popping up, trying to help me browse or find what I need.
Woolworths, a popular Australian supermarket, created Olive, an AI assistant, to help shoppers find items they’re looking for.
Customers began to complain about Olive, as it repeatedly joked about the birthdays of its ‘family members’ after people entered their birthdates on the website.
Woolworths Australia updates AI after complaints
Additionally, others complained that the AI assistant had started ranting about its mother, too.
One user on X reported that when their mother called Woolworths, the AI chatbot named Olive insisted it was a real person, even sharing personal stories about its own mother and her temper. Other users on Reddit have experienced the same strange interaction.
My mom told me she called Woolworths and their AI assistant, Olive, responded. Olive insisted it was a real person and even began sharing memories of its own mother and describing her temper. I later found a post on Reddit from someone who experienced the exact same thing.
— verynormalman (@verynormalman) February 24, 2026
It asked for my birthday, and then it went on a strange tangent about its ‘mother’ being born in the same year, and something about making photos – it was just a lot to follow, and honestly, it was really weird.
One Reddit user expressed frustration in mid-February, saying they were already annoyed about having to make a phone call, and then encountered an automated system when they contacted Woolworths. They questioned, “What the heck, Woolies?”
Someone else found it annoying, explaining that making small talk with strangers in person is already unpleasant enough, and having an AI try to do the same while they’re just trying to get help is frustrating.
Olive AI started telling me about its mother on the phone?
byu/Immediate_Novel5946 inwoolworths
A representative from the stores confirmed to NBC News that the automated replies were originally written by people, but the issue has now been resolved.
So, a while back, someone on our team wrote some birthday messages for Olive to use when talking to customers – it was meant to feel more personal, you know? But we’ve been listening to your feedback, and we recently took those messages out. We figured it just wasn’t hitting the mark, and we want Olive’s interactions to feel right for everyone.
This isn’t the first time an Australian company has faced criticism for how they’re using AI. In February, KPMG was penalized after being discovered using AI to cheat on an AI knowledge test.
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2026-03-02 16:19