United Kingdom, Feb. 27 -- Burger King is testing out AI headsets that monitor the "friendliness" of employees.

The AI system, called BK Assistant, comes up with "friendliness scores" at the fast-food chain's branches based on staff conversations, according to a promotional video from the company.

Burger King is currently piloting the scheme at 500 restaurants in the United States, a spokesperson for the company revealed.

The chain has stressed that the tech is not designed to "record conversations or evaluate individual employees".

An AI chatbot known as "Patty", which is embedded in the headsets, answers questions from employees regarding how to prepare menu items and flags when a product needs to be restocked.

However, its ability...