UK telecom company launches AI grandmother to talk to scammers and waste their time

Scammers, beware—there’s a new granny in town, and she’s not here to bake cookies but will talk about them endlessly if you meet her. Meet Daisy, the latest creation by UK telecom company O2. But Daisy isn’t your typical sweet grandma. She’s an AI-powered scambaiter designed to keep fraudsters on the phone as long as possible, chatting about her imaginary knitting projects or fake family drama. Her mission? To waste scammers’ time and protect real people from falling victim to fraud.
Daisy is part of O2’s “Swerve the Scammers” campaign, a creative effort to fight back against the rising tide of scam calls. Daisy is no ordinary chatbot—she’s a highly advanced AI designed to hold lifelike, human-like conversations. She listens, processes, and responds in real-time, tricking scammers into believing they’re talking to a real person. To make Daisy even more convincing, O2 collaborated with Jim Browning, a well-known scambaiter from YouTube, who helped train her with some of the most effective strategies.
Why was Daisy created? Research shows that 7 out of 10 Brits want revenge on scammers, but over half don’t want to waste their own time. That’s where Daisy steps in. She’s been hard at work, answering dodgy calls and keeping fraudsters occupied for up to 40 minutes at a time. By doing this, Daisy not only frustrates scammers but also prevents them from targeting real victims.
Daisy isn’t just about wasting scammers’ time—she’s also helping educate the public. Reality TV star Amy Hart, who lost £5,000 to a scam, teamed up with Daisy to raise awareness. Together, they’ve exposed common scam tactics, showing people how to recognise and avoid these threats.
Meanwhile, O2 has been blocking millions of scam calls and texts every month and encouraging people to report suspicious activity by forwarding messages to 7726, a free service. The company is also pushing for bigger changes, like a dedicated fraud minister and a national task force to tackle scams on a larger scale.
Daisy’s work is a reminder that scams can happen to anyone, but with the right tools and awareness, they can be stopped. If you ever get a suspicious call, remember to hang up, report it, and let Daisy take over. She’s got plenty of time to chat—and scammers are no match for her endless patience.