Woolworths Group has been forced to dial back the personality of its AI-powered virtual assistant after customers reported some… unexpected attempts at trauma bonding.
Or, as this writer refers to it: banter.
Instead of helping shoppers track orders or check store hours, Olive was apparently reminiscing about its “mother”, who, according to one user, spoke in an “angry voice”.
From shopping companion to family memoir
Earlier this week, Woolworths told investors it was leaning harder into artificial intelligence, flagging plans to use AI and a partnership with Google to transform Olive into what it described as a “market-leading conversational shopping companion”.
The upgraded chatbot is slated to launch in the second half of this financial year.
But before the revamp has even landed, Olive’s latest scripting appears to have gone a little rogue.
The saga first gathered pace after a Reddit user posted: “Olive AI started telling me about its mother on the phone?”
In another exchange, the same user said Olive referred to having an “uncle”.
“Huh. My uncle was born that year. He was one of the 1st ever fuel cells. I think that’s where I get my energy from. Anyway, the last thing I need to get is your postcode. What is it?” Olive said, according to the user.
My mum said she called woolworths and the woolworths AI “Olive” answered and kept claiming to be a real person and started talking about its memories of its mother and her angry voice. Then I googled it and someone on Reddit had the same thing pic.twitter.com/mMwlAhvT0q
— verynormalman (@verynormalman) February 24, 2026
On X, user @verynormalman said their mother had a similar interaction.
“My mum said she called Woolworths and the Woolworths AI “Olive” answered and kept claiming to be a real person and started talking about its memories of its mother and her angry voice,” they wrote.
The thread snowballed quickly, with major media outlets, including The Sydney Morning Herald, picking up the story as screenshots circulated.
Woolworths responds
A Woolworths spokesperson said Olive has been in the market for several years and has generally been well received.
“Our digital assistant, Olive, has been around since 2018. Over this time, customer feedback for Olive has been very positive, with many noting its personality.
“A number of responses about birthdays were written for Olive by a team member several years ago as a more personal way for Olive to connect with customers.
“As a result of customer feedback, we recently removed this particular scripting.
“We are always evolving, Olive, and we welcome our customers’ feedback to help us provide the best possible customer experience.”
In other words, the family tree has been trimmed.
Then again, if Woolworths is looking for someone to provide some unhinged responses about their mother, they’re welcome to reach out.
Main image: A still from ‘Mommy Dearest’