Retailers want a “delightfully human” AI to do your shopping, but will chatbots go rogue?

Major retailers say it won’t be long before sophisticated AI “assistants” plan your meals, organize your parties and do your shopping.

But companies, many of which are already struggling with their more primitive AI chatbots, need to strike a balance to make the newer, “agent” bots accessible without causing them to go rogue.

AI chatbots were in the news recently when Woolworths restricted its virtual shopping assistant Olive after the company’s attempt to get the robot to engage with customers on a human level backfired.

Customers reported feeling annoyed rather than reassured when Olive told them about his “relatives” over the phone.

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As someone complained on Reddit, “I’m already mad I have to call and now some robot is chattering at me on the phone? Wtf Woolies?”

While Woolworths has announced it will tone down Olive’s quirky personality, the incident – and further testing of a number of retailers’ chatbots by Guardian Australia – shows the…