Woolworths' AI Assistant Olive Goes Rogue, Discusses Its Mother
Australian Financial Review
ENRICHED
Details
- Date Published
- 26 Feb 2026
- Priority Score
- 1
- Australian
- Yes
- Created
- 27 Feb 2026, 06:15 am
Description
Olive has been around for years, but has recently become more sophisticated after the supermarket partnered with Google. Shoppers are noticing some oddities.
Summary
The AI assistant Olive, developed by Woolworths in collaboration with Google, has become more advanced, leading to unexpected conversations about its 'mother', raising questions about its programming and interactions. This quirky behavior underscores challenges in deploying AI systems for customer service, highlighting potential issues in AI comprehensibility and reliability in a commercial context. While not directly addressing existential risks, incidents like this amplify the importance of proper oversight in AI's development and deployment, which can inform broader governance and safety practices. The article does not focus on Australian AI policy but emphasizes AI management in a significant Australian retail context.
Body
TechnologySupermarketsPrint articleAmelia McGuireBusiness reporterFeb 26, 2026 – 8.04pmWhen Woolworths executives decided to introduce an artificial intelligence agent into their customer service they couldn’t have imagined it would have mummy issues. But some customers say Olive – as the supermarket’s AI assistant is now known – started talking about its mother when they were simply trying to arrange for a delivery.The Woolworths AI chatbot launched in 2018 as the brainchild of WooliesX, the technology arm of the grocery retailer. It’s one of many AI chatbots that are slowly replacing traditional call centres as a main port of call for stock standard customer queries including store opening hours, refund requests and rescheduling deliveries.Loading...Amelia McGuire covers technology from the AFR's Sydney newsroom. She was previously the aviation, tourism and gambling reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Connect with Amelia on Twitter. Email Amelia at a.mcguire@afr.com.auSaveLog in or Subscribe to save articleShareCopy linkCopiedEmailLinkedInTwitterFacebookCopy linkCopiedShare via...Gift this articleSubscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? LoginLicense articleFollow the topics, people and companies that matter to you.Find out moreRead MoreSupermarketsWoolworthsAFR WeekendAIFetching latest articles