The Kentucky AI Integrated Assistant: Going to extraordinary lengths for the taste of KFC

An AI that mentions chicken randomly whenever interacted with has been revealed to be an all-new South African artificial intelligence (AI) platform created by KFC, the Kentucky AI Integrated Assistant (Image supplied)

This follows social media leaks and a tech spec video caused a stir last week, such as Bongani Moropa’s, known as @Bonghuni, who posted about KAIIA’s fluency in Zulu, remarking on her odd obsession with food.

Tech influencer also Tyron Tech posted “This could be game changing for RSA”.

The platform that has caused a storm of speculation – and plenty of head-scratching over its obsession with chicken – is the centrepiece of a new KFC marketing campaign which KAIIA is the star.

In the brand’s latest epic TV and cinema commercial, she goes to extraordinary lengths for the taste of KFC.

surprising consumers

KFC Africa chief marketing officer Grant Macpherson says the brand loves pushing boundaries and surprising consumers with its campaigns, showing the lengths people (and now an AI) will go to for the taste of KFC.

“The unofficial taste inspector campaign is one everyone remembers, and last year we featured scientists spending a year on Marion Island and pining so hard that two of them set off home in a dinghy clutching a KFC shopping list,” he says.

“Bringing these stories to life with our incredible partners at Ogilvy has been a blast.

"This time around, we wanted to tap into the conversations people are having every day—AI, or as I like to call it, ‘Are the robots taking over?’ The advances in AI are on everyone’s lips, so we thought—why not put it on everyone’s taste buds too?

“Our idea is to ride the wave of relevance by creating a campaign that taps into the modern zeitgeist, sparks conversation, and gives Mzansi a chance to engage with the tech in a fun and lighthearted way.”

Human experience

He adds, “Sure, AI can help me check the spelling in this quote and generate an endless stream of cat memes, but you’ve got to feel a bit sorry for it.

“I mean, what’s life (even artificial life) without the pleasure of our world-famous 11 herbs and spices?”

Available to public

As an AI large language model AI assistant, KAIIA – the work of Methodlab in Cape Town – will be fully operational to the public from 24 June.

She can interact fluently in 11 of South Africa’s official language,s and her responses are built around local culture and nuanced according to which language is being used.