Robots are asking for tips. But who actually gets the money?

Machines are sticking out their digital palms. Your reaction could help shape the future of the service industry.

If you're not in the mood for slot machines at Las Vegas's Venetian Hotel, you can find some entertainment at a bar called The Tipsy Robot. It has a kitschy gimmick: two robotic arms that make automated cocktails.

I hit "margarita" on a screen and watched them jerk to life. They mixed tequila with lime and triple sec, spinning needlessly for extra flair and bowing to deliver the glass. It might have thrilled me 20 years ago. Today, it's almost a cliché.

The drink ran $17 (£12.55), but I found an additional charge: a 10% "service fee". Tipsy wanted a tip.

It wasn't the first time I'd encountered this. A similar robot barista asked me for a tip at Artly Coffee in New York. At Newark Liberty International Airport, a self-checkout machine suggested a gratuity on a bottle of water at an unstaffed kiosk. Across the country in Portland, Oregon, a human took my order at the restaurant Top Burmese, but a robot server wheeled out the dinner.

For the human waiter, I happily tipped 20%, but on the other occasions I hesitated. The rules of tipping go out the window when robots stick out their digital palms, and it's often unclear who keeps the money.

But is this the new normal, or just a passing robot fever dream? The answer may hinge on what you decide to do with your wallet.

Representatives for The Tipsy Robot and Artly Coffee say their human staff split all the tips and the companies get nothing. Artly has even turned off tip-prompts since I visited. Yet these may be exceptions. In fact, some experts tell me robo-tipping may part of a broader effort to squeeze more out of workers and customers alike.

"We have every reason to believe that some unscrupulous employers are taking the robot tips for themselves," says Holona Ochs, an associate professor of political science at Lehigh University, US, and co-author of the book Gratuity. "The critical question is who benefits, and who pays the price," says Ochs.

Since the pandemic, people are now asked for more tips in more places than ever before, often prompted by digital payment systems. Consumers complain of "emotional blackmail" as suggested tip percentages creep up. And while some scoff at Americans' "out of control" tip culture, it's spreading across the globe.

The changing norms are a flash point in the US, where gratuities let companies pay staff a lower base salary. The US minimum wage is $7.25 (£5.35) an hour, but it drops to just $2.13 (£1.57) for employees who work for tips.

When you tip a worker in the US, the law says companies, owners and supervisors cannot take a cut. But if you're tipping a machine, there may be a loophole.

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