Hutty Madness: Pizza Hut’s AI Sidekick Serves Hot Takes and Hotter Deals

Pizza Hut is doubling down on its March Madness sponsorship with a second-screen digital play called “Hutty,” accessible via Instagram and powered by Meta AI. The chatbot companion reacts in real-time to NCAA tournament games, dishes out snappy commentary, and serves up exclusive offers—like the chance to win free pizza for a year. This digital assist aligns with Pizza Hut’s internal data: 69% of viewers use their phones while watching games, and 64% engage with social media during the tournament. Hutty meets fans where they already are—on their phones.

Unlike the communal Super Bowl experience, NCAA games tend to be more solitary affairs, which is exactly the gap Hutty aims to fill. As CMO Melissa Friebe puts it, the goal is to “turn every game into a shared moment,” even if you're just streaming from your couch. The tool not only reacts to buzzer-beaters with AI-generated hot takes, but it also offers discount codes and redirects users to sweepstakes via a dedicated microsite. Access is simple: click “Hutty” in Pizza Hut’s Instagram bio to start chatting with the AI.

This isn’t Pizza Hut’s first foray into quirky, tech-enabled marketing. Over the past year, they’ve offered breakup-healing pizzas for Valentine’s Day, printed resumes on pizza boxes, and used QR-coded delivery cars to photobomb competitors’ drive-thrus. With Hutty, Pizza Hut’s hoping a dash of AI and a sprinkle of gameday energy will bring in more than just pizza lovers—it’s gunning for screen time, relevance, and revenue.

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