Frustrated GP patients hang up as Yorkshire accent baffles AI receptionist

One patient said of the AI system: ‘I could never get it to understand me, I ended up just hanging up and not bothering to try and book an appointment.’ Photograph: Julian Claxton/Alamy

Patients in a South Yorkshire town are frustrated by an AI GP receptionist not understanding their “broad accents”, a health watchdog has said.

Healthwatch Rotherham, a local health and social care watchdog, said a number of practices in the area had introduced a new AI receptionist called Emma.