A trip to Bojangles turned into an unexpectedly spooky experience for one North Carolina customer after she encountered the fast-food chain’s Halloween-themed AI drive-thru assistant. The automated voice was supposed to add some seasonal fun to the ordering experience, but its ‘witch-like delivery’ left her less than impressed.
Kash, who posts on TikTok as @kuniquestyles, shared a video of herself ordering at the drive-thru, where the restaurant’s AI assistant greeted her with a Halloween-themed offer. Instead of the usual automated voice, she was met with a theatrical witch persona that continued speaking in character throughout her order.
“Would you like to try our new nine-piece Boo Bite?” the assistant asked. Kash declined and ordered a number 17 instead. But the interaction did not get any less unusual. When the AI asked which side she wanted, she responded with her choice of fries. The assistant then prompted her to select another item, prompting an increasingly exasperated response from the customer.
“What in the world? Fries,” she said. The assistant continued asking whether she wanted to add anything else, and Kash repeatedly declined. It eventually gave her a total of $10.91 before delivering one final Halloween-themed line: “Boo-tiful choice,” followed by a witch-like cackle.
“What in the world? I don’t like that,” Kash said as she drove toward the pickup window. She was even more direct in her video’s caption, describing the voice as “very creepy and demonic.” Theoriginal TikTok video shows the entire exchange.
Bojangles gave its AI assistant a Halloween makeover
The voice Kash encountered belongs to Bo-Linda, the restaurant chain’s AI-powered drive-thru ordering assistant. For Halloween, the technology received a seasonal makeover and became Boo-Linda, complete with a new witch-like voice and personality.
Hi Auto, the company behind the ordering technology, highlighted the transformation in an October social media post, describing Boo-Linda as a Halloween version of the assistant with the same ordering capabilities underneath.
The character was part of Bojangles’ larger Boojangles campaign, which returned for Halloween 2026. According to the restaurant’sOctober 1 announcement, the seasonal promotion included a collaboration with Carolina Panthers wide receiver Xavier Legette, limited-edition Halloween packaging and a new Bite Box.
The transformation, on top of being the restaurant’s marketing strategy, also showed how the chain has been incorporating AI into an increasingly ordinary part of the customer experience.
The AI assistant is already handling millions of orders
Bojangles began expanding its partnership with Hi Auto in July 2024, introducing Bo-Linda to its drive-thru locations. The system has since grown considerably.
In an October 22 announcement, Hi Auto and Bojangles said the AI assistant was operating at nearly 500 locations and processing more than one million orders every week, with a reported success rate of 98%. The companies also announced a multi-year extension of their partnership, with plans to add another 100 locations by mid-2027.
The technology is designed to take orders, recommend additional menu items and help employees focus on preparing food and serving customers. Its upcoming features include adjusting upselling suggestions based on how long the drive-thru line is.
Kash’s reaction also became a conversation about the unusual experience of ordering food from a machine. Some viewers compared Boo-Linda’s voice to Moaning Myrtle from Harry Potter and Gollum from The Lord of the Rings. Others found the Halloween character amusing, even if they weren’t particularly eager to encounter it while ordering dinner.
For now, Bo-Linda’s witchy transformation appears to be a seasonal gimmick. But if customers are going to keep encountering AI at the drive-thru, Bojangles may have to decide how much personality is too much.
