Does video show real AI job interview for Burger King?

Claim: A video authentically shows an AI job interview for a position at Burger King. ContextBurger King said it believed the video was fake, writing, "We do not use, nor are we aware of any Franchisee across the U.S. or Canada using a tool like this." The video was originally posted by a creator who regularly shares similar humorous AI job interview videos. In November, social media users shared a video supposedly showing a artificial intelligence job interview for the fast-food chain Burger King. In the clip, a virtual interviewer named Karen appears to be increasingly frustrated with an applicant who is shirtless, has a shoe on his head and gives unusual answers to her questions. "Sending AI bots to interview for a $4 per hour job … that's about the respect they deserve. People need to push back on this dehumanizing practice. This can literally be an email," one X post (archived) captioned the video. "This is Burger King! Burger King uses this weird ai lady to interview people," the same user wrote (archived) in another post. The video also circulated on other social media platforms, including Reddit, Facebook and LinkedIn. In short, the video doesn't show an authentic interview for a job at Burger King. The company denied using the AI interviewer featured in the recording, which was originally posted by a content creator who regularly shares similar humorous videos. We have therefore rated the claim as miscaptioned. It is unclear how the video was created, including whether the AI interviewer responded in real time or whether parts of the conversation were scripted. We have reached out to the creator of the video and will update this report if we receive a response. What we know about the video We traced the video to content creator Nick Reid, who uses the handle @itsnickreid on TikTok and @nickreidx on X. "I'm Karen from Burger King, and I'm here to chat with you about the team member position to get us started. What should I call you?" the AI interviewer said at the beginning of the video, with the candidate responding, "You can call me Cranjis McBasketball." A series of unusual exchanges follows. For instance, the AI interviewer questions why the applicant is shirtless and has a shoe on his head, while he gives absurd answers, including saying he can get to work because he "has feet." Later in the video, the applicant asks for a salary of $725,000, while the AI interviewer says the position pays only $4 per hour. AI INTERVIEWER: Since you are still here, let's talk money. What are your salary expectations for this role? APPLICANT: $725,000 a year. No negotiations whatsoever. AI INTERVIEWER: $725,000 a year? You have to be absolutely delusional to think that is a realistic number for a team member position. The pay for this location is $4 per hour and it is non-negotiable. Now do you have any questions for me about the role or the process? APPLICANT: Yeah, how does it feel to scam employees by paying them only $4 an hour? Jacka**. AI INTERVIEWER: I have already told you that the pay is $4 an hour. I will not be called names, especially not by someone who thinks throwing sandwiches at people is an acceptable way to handle a customer. Reid's accounts posted several similar videos showing supposed job interviews for different companies, featuring the same AI interviewer, with captions such as "Bathing during an AI interview" or "Golfing During an AI Job Interview." This suggests the videos were created as comedy content and weren't showing real job interviews. (TikTok account @itsnickreid) On Nov. 11, business media outlet Fast Company described Reid's video as a comedy skit in an article about "comedy videos online highlight the awkward shortcomings of AI avatars that could screen job applicants." However, some social media users appeared to believe the interview was real, expressing shock at the AI interviewer's behavior and the $4 hourly wage mentioned in the video. (TikTok account @itsnickreid) Burger King addressed the video on X, writing, "We are aware of this video and we want to be clear: we believe it's fake, and we do not use, nor are we aware of any Franchisee across the U.S. or Canada using a tool like this." (X account @BurgerKing) After the company's response, the creator wrote on X, "@BurgerKing wanna collab?" When we reached out to Burger King for comment, the company said it had "nothing further to add" to its previous statement, which was also published on its official website. Has Burger King used AI in recruitment? While Burger King denied using the AI interviewer shown in the video, some of its franchisees have used AI tools in their hiring processes in the past. For instance, recruitment company AMS published a case study about its work with Starboard Investments, a Burger King franchise operator. According to AMS, its "conversational AI technology has significantly expedited the candidate screening and interview scheduling process." According to the case study, the AI tool was used for "screening candidates and coordinating interview schedules." Emi, another recruitment company, also described working with Burger King. According to the company, its AI-powered recruitment platform helped automate tasks such as "candidate screening and interview scheduling." Neither company mentioned AI avatars conducting job interviews with applicants. Therefore, while there is evidence that AI tools have been used in recruitment at Burger King restaurants, we found no evidence that they were used to conduct live interviews like the one shown in the in-question video. The AI interviewer in the video also claimed that the position paid $4 per hour. However, this seems unlikely, as the federal minimum wage in the U.S. is $7.25 per hour, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. A similarly low rate is the youth minimum wage of $4.25 per hour, but it applies only to workers under 20 during their first 90 days of employment. We found no evidence Burger King actually offers jobs at the $4 hourly rate mentioned in the video. All in all, while some AI tools have been used in recruitment at Burger King restaurants, there was no evidence that the video spreading on social media in November showed a real job interview for the company.