Full transparency on how an AI calls London venues, classifies responses, and keeps the map accurate. No black boxes.
Poppy, our AI voice agent, places outbound calls to venues using a real UK phone number. She introduces herself conversationally and asks about pram access. The calls are short – typically 30 to 90 seconds – and indistinguishable from a human caller in the vast majority of cases.
She asks broadly: are you pram-friendly? Can a buggy get through the door? Is there a step? She listens, follows up if the answer is ambiguous, and ends politely. The entire conversation is recorded and transcribed.
Across 9,219 calls, only 4 people identified Poppy as an AI. In one case, Poppy called a venue that was itself AI-powered – neither knew they were talking to a machine until the end.
Every transcript is analysed by a second AI (Claude, by Anthropic) that classifies the venue based on what was actually said. The criteria:
Venues are only rated if the call produced a confident classification. Ambiguous, cut-off, or contradictory calls are excluded from the map until a follow-up call produces a clear answer.
Most data is frozen the moment it’s collected. This data isn’t. The classifier automatically re-evaluates past calls as it improves – so ratings get more accurate over time, even for calls made months ago. When the classification logic was tightened in April 2026, 159 venues were added to the map overnight without a single new call being made. The system corrected its own past work automatically.
Not initially. Poppy calls like a regular customer enquiry. If asked directly, she will confirm she's an AI – which is why under 1% of calls result in a detected call. The other 99%+ proceed naturally.
Venues can change. A cafe that was accessible last month may have rearranged furniture or added a step. We re-call venues periodically and accept inaccuracy reports on every venue page. If you think a rating is wrong, flag it – we'll re-call within a week.
No answer, voicemail, or engaged tone results in the call being logged but the venue not rated. Twilio’s answering machine detection identifies voicemail within 5-7 seconds — Poppy hangs up immediately rather than waiting. We retry unanswered venues in later batches. Venues are never rated without a real conversation.
Currently, each venue is called once. We're building a re-call schedule to refresh ratings quarterly – access situations change, especially after renovations. Until then, we show the call date on each venue entry.
We use Google Places data to build borough-level venue lists, filtered to cafes, restaurants, pubs, gyms, supermarkets and similar venues. We exclude venues that are clearly not relevant (petrol stations, fast food drive-throughs) before calling.
Yes. Cold calling businesses for legitimate commercial research purposes is legal in the UK. Venues are businesses open to the public. We don't call residential numbers and we don't record for any purpose beyond classification.
Buggy Smart is not a definitive accessibility guide. Pram access depends on buggy size, venue layout at the time of visit, and staff willingness on the day. A green rating means a venue said yes to an AI caller – it doesn't guarantee a perfect experience.
Use it as a first filter, not a guarantee. We think it's better than showing up and hoping – which is what most parents do now.