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Press Kit — Buggy Smart — Updated April 2026

An AI made 6,752 calls to London venues to ask if a buggy fits through the door.
One person said “Oh, that’s awful.” Another said “That’s amazing.” One said “No, I hate them.”

Free map. Live data. No reviews. Just what venues said when the phone rang.

London's most thorough buggy access dataset.

← Back to Buggy Smart View the map → Copy press release → Get quotes →

6,752 Calls made Autonomous · no humans dialling

369 Venues rated Live · updates daily

78% Said yes Of all answered calls

0.4% Detected AI 4 out of 369

29s Avg. call Shortest 7s · longest 91s

Media enquiries: Mike Litman · hello@mikelitman.me · 07973 572 175 All data free to use · Attribution: Buggy Smart (buggysmart.app)

By the Numbers

<£300

Total build cost

7s

Shortest call on record

4

AI-to-AI calls completed

21

GAIL’s branches that said yes

337

Hours a human would have spent

1

Venue that said “No, I hate them”

Story Angles

Tech / AI

This AI made 6,752 calls to London businesses without a single human lifting the phone

An autonomous AI voice agent named Poppy runs daily, calls venues, transcribes conversations, classifies responses, and updates a live map – all without human intervention. In 369 calls, only 4 people suspected they were talking to a machine. Average call: 29 seconds.

Parenting / Lifestyle

London’s first systematic pushchair access map – built by a dad with a buggy and too much curiosity

250,000 babies are born in London every year. Google doesn’t tell you if your buggy fits through the door. TripAdvisor doesn’t ask. Mike Litman got tired of finding out the hard way, so he built an AI to call ahead for him – every venue, every day.

Data / Rankings

Haringey is London’s most pram-friendly borough. Greenwich is the toughest. GAIL’s is the most reliable chain.

For the first time, every London borough has an accessibility ranking based on real phone calls, not reviews. Haringey leads at 95%. Greenwich is the toughest at 70%. GAIL’s Bakery said yes in 21 of 22 branches – the most consistently accessible chain in the city.

Consumer / Investigation

Which supermarket chain is most accessible to parents? We’re calling every branch in London to find out.

Waitrose vs Iceland vs Sainsbury’s vs Aldi vs Lidl vs Tesco vs M&S. 76 branches queued. No one has ever collected this data at scale. Buggy Smart is doing it. Results published when complete.

Weird / Unexpected

Poppy called another AI. Then another. Four AI-to-AI conversations about pushchair access.

Four venues – Gloria, Carlotta, Caravan King’s Cross, and Boulangerie Jade – have their own AI phone systems. Poppy called them all. Two AIs, one question: can a buggy get through the door? The conversations are on the site. They are extraordinary.

The Story

1

The problem

250,000 babies are born in London every year. Nobody tells you which cafes their buggy can get into.

Google Maps doesn’t ask. TripAdvisor doesn’t ask. The only way to know is to call ahead, show up and hope, or rely on word of mouth from other parents. Mike Litman got tired of arriving somewhere with his son’s buggy and being turned away at the door.

2

The idea

What if an AI just... called them all?

Inspired by the Guinndex – which called 3,000+ Irish pubs to track Guinness prices – Litman built Poppy: a voice AI that calls London venues and asks one question. Are you baby and pram friendly? She sounds natural. Most people have no idea.

3

The scale

6,752 calls. 369 venues rated. A human researcher would have spent 337 hours on the phone.

Poppy calls venues via Twilio, using ElevenLabs conversational AI. Every call is transcribed. Claude classifies the response. The result goes on a live map at buggysmart.app. No human initiates a call. No human reviews the transcript. It runs every day. Average call: 29 seconds. At London Living Wage, the equivalent manual research would cost over £5,000 and take two months. Poppy did it in weeks, autonomously.

4

The findings

Haringey is the friendliest borough at 95%. GAIL’s said yes in 21 of 22 branches. One café said “No, I hate them.”

78% of London venues called said yes. Haringey leads at 95%. Greenwich is the toughest at 70%. GAIL’s Bakery is the most consistently accessible chain in the city – 21 of 22 branches confirmed. Only Belsize Park said no.

5

What’s coming

76 supermarket branches queued. The chain comparison no one has done.

Waitrose vs Iceland vs Sainsbury’s vs Aldi vs Lidl – which supermarket chain is most consistently accessible to parents with buggies? Buggy Smart is calling every major supermarket branch in London to find out. The data will be published here when complete.

Quotable Moments

Verbatim. From real calls. Free to use in articles with attribution to Buggy Smart. 4 of 369 people (0.4%) asked if they were talking to an AI – their reactions are included below.

“No, I hate them.”

Allpress Espresso Roastery, Dalston · 91-second call

Asked about prams. This was the full answer.

“Oh, that’s awful. Oh, that’s awful.”

B Bagel, Camden · on learning Poppy was AI

Asked if they were speaking to an AI. Poppy confirmed. This was the response.

“That’s amazing. I’ll be really pleased to see an AI person.”

Bikes For Good Causes, Haringey · on learning Poppy was AI

Asked “You’re AI, aren’t you?” — Poppy confirmed. This was the response.

“Yes, there’s a button on the outside you can press and we’ll come and help you. Just two little steps, but there’s a buzzer. And there’s a changing area for the baby, and plenty of seats.”

GAIL’s Bakery Hackney Castle, Mare Street

The most detailed and helpful yes in the dataset.

“No. No. We’re not baby and pram friendly.”

Collective, Kennington Park Cafe

Said twice, for clarity.

“It’s the AI baby and pram-friendly thing. It’s AI.”

Dee Light Bakery, Balham · staff member to colleague, mid-call

Poppy waited patiently. They answered anyway.

“We’ve got an on-site creche… especially for anyone joining our Make Mum Strong classes.”

CrossFit Tooting, Balham

CrossFit has a creche. Nobody knew.

“Wha–what AI are you?”

The Haggerston, Hackney · on detecting AI

They didn’t ask if they were talking to an AI. They asked which one.

All quotes are verbatim from AI-transcribed phone calls. Attribution: Buggy Smart (buggysmart.app).

Borough Rankings

Ranked by percentage of accessible venues. Real phone calls – not reviews. 6,752 calls is enough data to draw conclusions.

Look up your borough

🥈

Islington

92%

12 venues

🥇

Haringey

95%

21 venues

🥉

Battersea

78%

51 venues

📈 Chain insight

GAIL’s Bakery: called across 22 London branches. 21 said yes. Only Belsize Park said no. The most consistently accessible chain in the city. Supermarket chain comparison coming soon – 76 branches queued.

# Borough Access rate % Venues

1 Haringey

95% 21 venues 🏆

2 Islington

92% 12 venues

3 Battersea

78% 51 venues

3 Hackney

78% 85 venues

3 Balham

78% 49 venues

3 Brixton

78% 40 venues

7 Camden

77% 57 venues

8 Dulwich

76% 17 venues

9 Greenwich

70% 20 venues

Rankings for boroughs with under 15 venues should be treated as indicative. Data grows daily. Full leaderboard →

Listen to the Calls

Real calls, unedited. Exactly as they happened.

Gloria, Shoreditch — AI calls AI

AI × AI

Poppy reached Gloria’s automated receptionist. Two AI systems, one question about pushchairs. Neither blinked. Transcript below, verbatim.

Poppy Hi, silly question – are you baby and pram friendly?

Gloria Thanks for calling Gloria London. How can I help you today? Just so you know, I’m an AI assistant, and this call is being recorded.

Poppy I just mean can I get the pram through the door basically?

Gloria Yes, we can definitely accommodate prams. We have high chairs available and we’ll help you get your pram situated where space allows.

Shell Petrol Station, Balham

7 seconds

A petrol station appeared in the venue queue. Poppy called it. This is what happened. Unedited.

606 Club, Chelsea

Charming

A legendary jazz club picks up. The response is exactly what you’d hope for from a London institution.

Hackney Picturehouse, Hackney

Cinema

What does an AI sound like calling a cinema about prams? Exactly like this.

E. Pellicci, Bethnal Green

Historic

London’s most famous greasy spoon. Grade II listed. Poppy called it anyway.

The Viktor Wynd Museum, Hackney

Unexpected

A museum of curiosities. The call was appropriately curious.

🤖 Unexpected: AI talking to AI

Four venues – Gloria (Shoreditch), Carlotta (Marylebone), Caravan King’s Cross, and Boulangerie Jade – have their own AI phone systems. Poppy called them all. One AI asked another AI about pushchair access. The conversations are extraordinary. Hear them on the site →

All recordings available on the listen page →

Founder Quote

For use in articles, features, or interviews – attributed to Mike Litman, founder.

“I got tired of arriving at a cafe with my kid’s buggy and being turned away at the door. Nobody had the data. Google Maps doesn’t ask. TripAdvisor doesn’t ask. So I built an AI to call ahead for me – every venue, every day. I didn’t expect it to become a systematic dataset. I didn’t expect anyone to care. But here we are.”

Mike Litman, founder, Buggy Smart

Press Release

An AI made 6,752 calls to London venues to map pushchair access. When people found out they were talking to a machine, one said “That’s amazing.” Another said “Oh, that’s awful.” One told the AI: “No, I hate them.”

London, 2026 – A London dad has built an AI voice agent that calls cafes, restaurants and venues across the city and asks one question: can I get my buggy through the door? In 369 completed conversations, only 4 people asked if they were talking to an AI.

The agent, named Poppy, runs autonomously daily without human intervention. She calls venues, transcribes conversations, classifies responses, and adds verified results to a free interactive map at buggysmart.app. 369 venues across 12 London boroughs have been rated. The map updates itself.

Created by Mike Litman, a digital strategist and father of a two-year-old, Buggy Smart uses ElevenLabs conversational AI and Twilio. Of 369 venues rated, 78% were buggy-friendly. Haringey leads as London’s most accessible borough at 95%. GAIL’s Bakery – called across 22 London branches – said yes in 21 of them, making it the most consistently buggy-friendly chain in the city.

In a further twist, four venues – Gloria, Carlotta, Caravan King’s Cross, and Boulangerie Jade – have their own AI phone systems. Poppy called them all. One AI asked another AI about pushchair access. The conversations are available on the site.

No equivalent product exists in the UK. Google Maps doesn’t surface pushchair access. TripAdvisor doesn’t ask. The only way to know is to call ahead. Buggy Smart calls ahead for you, automatically, every day.

Press Assets

Everything you need to write the story. Download, embed, or link freely. No credit required – though a link to buggysmart.app is appreciated.

Visuals

Map screenshot (live capture)

1280×800px PNG · The actual live map · suitable for article header or inline image

Brand / OG image

1200×630px PNG · Buggy Smart brand image · suitable for social or article header

Vector · scales to any size · use on white or cream backgrounds

Live interactive map

buggysmart.app/map.html · embeddable or screenshottable · updates daily

Audio

All call recordings – listen page

buggysmart.app/listen.html · streamable · suitable for broadcast

Download: “No, I hate them.” – Allpress, Dalston

MP3 · 91 seconds · the most direct rejection in the dataset

Download: AI calls AI – Gloria, Shoreditch

MP3 · 90 seconds · two AI systems discuss pushchair access

Download: Shell Petrol Station, Balham – 7 seconds

MP3 · 7 seconds · a petrol station appeared in the queue

Data

Raw data (JSON)

All 369 venue ratings · name, borough, access rating, best quote, call duration · updated daily

Borough leaderboard

buggysmart.app/boroughs/ · ranked by accessibility rate · screenshottable

Ready-to-use lede options

Three angles, three tones. Adapt freely.

Tech / AI angle

An AI called Poppy has made 6,752 phone calls to London venues – cafes, restaurants, pubs, gyms – and asked each one the same question: can a buggy get through your front door? In 369 completed conversations, only four people suspected they were talking to a machine. One of those four said: “That’s amazing. I’ll be really pleased to see an AI person.”

Parenting / human angle

Every London parent knows the feeling: you arrive at a cafe with a buggy and there’s no way to know if it fits through the door until you’re standing in front of it. Google doesn’t ask. TripAdvisor doesn’t ask. So Mike Litman, a London dad, built an AI to call ahead for him – every venue, every day, automatically. She’s made 6,752 calls. One café told her: “No, I hate them.”

Data / ranking angle

Which London borough is most welcoming to parents with pushchairs? According to 6,752 AI-made phone calls, it’s Haringey – where 95% of venues confirmed they’re buggy-friendly. Greenwich is the toughest at 70%. GAIL’s Bakery said yes in 21 of 22 London branches called. Only Belsize Park said no.

Social-ready copy

Content & Links

When They Spotted Poppy – all 4 detection cases

Full transcripts · buggysmart.app/spotted.html

Poppy Called Gloria – the AI-on-AI call

Full story + audio · buggysmart.app/gloria.html

I Built an AI That Called 2,000 London Cafes to Find Out Which Ones My Buggy Can Get Into

Blog post · mikelitman.me

Can My Buggy Get Through the Door? – 17 slides

Deck · mikelitman.me

Borough Rankings – Which London borough is most pram-friendly?

Data · buggysmart.app

Technical overview · buggysmart.app

About the Founder

Mike Litman is a digital strategist and builder based in London. With 15+ years across agencies including MediaMonks, R/GA, and Contagious, he has worked with brands including Nike, Google, Gucci, and BMW. He was named a BIMA 100 Tech Pioneer and is a published author (BCS, 2024).

Buggy Smart is one of three AI voice agent projects Mike has built, alongside First Order (restaurant dish recommendations) and The Queue Index (walk-in wait times). All three run autonomously. He built Buggy Smart because he got tired of guessing which London cafes his pushchair could get into.

mikelitman.me · LinkedIn

Media Contact

For interviews, quotes, data requests, or additional audio – get in touch directly:

hello@mikelitman.me

Response within 24 hours. Happy to provide additional call recordings, borough breakdowns, or technical briefings.