An American engineer has built an AI voice agent modeled on the affable cadence of “Traitors UK” winner Rachel Duffy to cold-call more than 3,000 pubs across Ireland for Guinness prices, compiling the data into an online “Guinndex.” Of the calls, 2,052 were answered and more than 1,000 yielded prices, revealing a wide spread—Dublin averaging €6.75 a pint versus €5.38 in County Laois. Creator Matt Cortland, a former publican, says the bot was programmed to disclose its AI identity when asked and aims to promote value, not shame venues, amid recent price hikes from Guinness owner Diageo. The effort underscores how AI-powered voice agents are edging into real-world commerce, even as operators and regulators weigh the technology’s ethical and practical limits.
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