An AI voice agent with a Northern Ireland accent contacted over 3,000 pubs on the island of Ireland during St Patrick's Day weekend to ask about Guinness pint prices. The agent, named Rachel after Rachel Duffy from Newry who won the fourth series of The Traitors UK alongside Stephen Libby, received responses from 2,052 establishments. More than 1,000 provided prices.

US engineer Matt Cortland developed the agent to gather data for Guinndex, an online index tracking pint prices. He selected a Northern Ireland accent because Duffy's voice sounded trustworthy during the show. Cortland, originally from New Jersey and now in London, chose voices from an AI lab sample as an homage to her.

Dublin pubs averaged €6.75 per pint, the highest recorded. The lowest average came from County Laois at €5.38. Cortland noted price variation across locations and aims to highlight affordable options without harming the industry.

In Derrygonnelly, County Fermanagh, a bartender at Doogie's Bar joked about charging £25 but offered a discount. Owner John Doogan said such a response matched his style and expressed no issue with price indexes. He attributed recent hikes to Diageo, Guinness's owner.

Few pubs detected the AI. One in Kilkenny offered to buy a pint. Calls sometimes faltered, including one in Lisburn where the agent engaged another AI system, and another in Donegal with detailed questioning of the caller.