O2’s AI grandma baits scam callers and showcases security commitments /

In the UK, 73% of adults say they have knowingly been targeted by scams. One of the most prominent cons affecting people in the UK are scam calls, for which the UK has the highest rate in Europe. It’s a growing issue that resulted in total losses of £136m ($170m) for UK people in 2023 from 35,000 reported cases. While anyone can be targeted by scam callers, it’s a major problem among the elderly who are often seen as an easier target.

In response to the problem, mobile network operator O2, in partnership with VCCP’s AI creative agency Faith, has launched a campaign featuring an AI-powered scambaiter named Daisy.

The conversational AI helps to tackle scammers in real-time by answering calls and playing on their bias to target elderly people. By keeping scammers occupied for extended periods with infuriatingly confused and meandering conversations, Daisy prevents them from using the time to target real victims. Daisy harps on about her passion for knitting and provides false bank information to waste as much of the scammer’s time as possible. In some cases Daisy kept fraudsters on the line for more than 40 minutes.

O2 worked with expert UK scambaiter Jim Browning to seed Daisy’s contact details to attract fraudulent calls directly. 

Daisy was developed using a combination of cutting-edge AI technologies, including generative models, a large language model (LLM), and a voice model based on a VCCP staff member’s grandmother.

O2 produced a photo-realistic character by custom-training a diffusion model. The resulting granny featured in a 2min hero film for the campaign to showcase Daisy in action. The brand also released shorter 30-second edits of the spot across Meta platforms and TikTok.

In addition to Daisy, O2 is actively combating fraud by blocking millions of fraudulent texts and calls each month and introducing AI-powered spam-fighting tools and enhanced caller identification services for all mobile customers. The company also provides a dedicated webpage with tips and advice on how to avoid scammers.

O2 has further partnered with former Love Island contestant Amy Hart, who herself experienced being scammed, to emphasise how important it is to be aware of scammers, even for more tech-savvy Gen Zers.

Alex Dalman, managing director at Faith, said in a statement, ‘As an agency, we have faith that AI, when used responsibly, can be an accelerator of human creativity and imagination. We saw an opportunity to use generative AI to hero O2’s investment in AI technology to combat phone scammers and protect customers. AI doesn’t eat or sleep. It can work 24/7, making it the perfect weapon to take on the growing industrialisation of phone scamming.’