Couple goes to Dairy Queen drive-thru. Then the AI cashier catches an ‘attitude’ with them

Having an abrupt experience when ordering something in the drive-thru can be awkward and frustrating. But what happens when a somewhat brisk or “rude” employee isn't even a real human being?

That's what Emmy Haggerty (@emmyhaggerty) and her husband experienced while trying to order Blizzards at Dairy Queen. The content creator told her audience that “[Dairy Queen] and their new [AI] cashier needs an attitude check,” because of the unusual way the cashier took their orders. Instead of responding to requests in a normal, “human” way, the AI quickly interrupted Haggerty's husband mid-sentence, which the content creator captured on her phone.

As of this writing, Haggerty's viral TikTok has received more than 13.1 million views.

The rude AI cashier

Haggerty started filming her and her partner's experience buying Blizzards from Dairy Queen. While Haggerty did not record the beginning of their order, she managed to record the latter half of it.

At the beginning of her video, a worker, who clearly sounded like an AI agent, said, “What else can I add?” Haggerty's husband said, “A large water cup.”

Then the AI asked, “ What's next?” incredibly briskly. When Haggerty's partner tried to answer, the AI interrupted and quickly asked, “What's next?” again.

Haggerty's partner added onto their order. “A small Royal Ultimate Chocolate Brownie Blizzard,” he said.

Again, the AI responded, “What's next?” in a hasty and almost hard-to-understand manner. Haggerty's partner said, “That's all,” which led into the next phase of the transaction.

“ Okay, I have a small Butterfinger Blizzard, a cup of water, and a small Ultimate Chocolate Brownie Royal Blizzard,” the AI said, before asking, “Correct?”

Haggerty's husband then confirmed the order with a simple “Yes.”

“ Your total is $12.49. Have a great night,” the AI said.

Viewers weigh in

In the comment section, viewers said that the AI agent's customer service left room for improvement.

“A water. And drop the attitude, clanker,” one viewer said.

Another criticized the AI's word choice. “‘What's next?' Is a weird choice,” they said. “Lol how about ‘anything else?'”

But others pointed out that the AI agent potentially took the job that a real employee could fill.

“So [AI] is taking [drive-thru] jobs now?? What's next?!” a commenter asked.

@emmyhaggerty WHATS NEXT!!! #dairyqueen #ai #funny #orderingfood ♬ original sound – emmy

Is AI really replacing some service industry jobs?

WIRED reporter Kate Taylor recently covered many drive-thrus' shift toward “AI employees,” interviewing customers who had a similar experience to Haggerty's.

Kristen Charpentier, who was one such customer who encountered an AI agent at Dairy Queen, said that in her experience, “There was no communication delay or weirdness to it. It felt completely natural … But just a little too pleasant to be human.”

Despite this, thousands of customers across the country are noticing differences in tone and overall delivery at different fast-food hotspots. Taco Bell, Wendy's, McDonald's, Culver's, and Zaxby's have all introduced AI agents to assist with taking orders, according to Metaintro.

Dairy Queen expanded its AI drive-thru initiative in 2026 after testing its efficiency in 2025.

And while The Wall Street Journal says that Dairy Queen's drive-thru AI can accurately take around 90% of orders, the decision to implement AI to such a large degree remains controversial.

Buzz News reached out to Haggerty and Dairy Queen via email.