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Sips & Bites, Doritos and PepsiCo’s in-house agency, has unveiled ‘Doritos Silent,’ the “world’s first” AI-augmented snack – powered by ‘Crunch Cancellation’. The technology cancels the sound of the crisps’ crunch for gamers in real time as they game with each other, solving what Doritos says is a genuine consumer tension. Snacking and gaming are synonymous, with 86% of gamers claiming to snack while playing. Doritos research has uncovered that gamers are put off by the sound of other players snacking, with a third of gamers claiming the sound of someone snacking frustrates them when playing and one in five gamers saying the sound makes them want to log off, with crisps identified as the most noisy. Together, Doritos and Sips & Bites have created what they say is “the first ever” silent chip, Doritos Silent. The new concept is powered by ‘Crunch Cancellation’ technology, where the sound of someone’s voice is separated in real time from the noise of the crisps' crunch. The AI then works to stop the crunch audio from being sent down the microphone – meaning gamers can snack without it distracting them from their game. Doritos collaborated with software developers Smooth Technology to create the “world’s first” AI-augmented chip. Under development for six months, the process involved the technical analysis of more than 5,000 thousand different Doritos crunch sounds to create a database. From these recordings, Doritos ‘Crunch Cancellation’ technology utilises AI learning audio driver technology to provide gamers with an uninterrupted playing experience. Matt Watson, executive creative director for Sips & Bites at PepsiCo, said: “Our ‘Crunch Cancellation’ tech delivers an entirely new snacking experience to gamers – the “Doritos Silent” experience. What we loved is how the concept is so intriguing to people; how on earth can you silence the iconic crunch of a Doritos? People immediately asked “what?” and “how?” and the disruptive image of an actual Dorito in an ear escalated the buzz, before we revealed it to be the world’s first AI-augmented ‘Silent Snack’. By silencing one of our biggest assets, we made it even louder.” Karina Stoltz, senior brand manager at Doritos, added: “Gaming is a massive industry worth over £7 billion, and is particularly enjoyed by Gen Z – a key demographic for Doritos. We know that the nation loves the satisfying crunch of Doritos, but listening to someone else enjoy them can be off-putting, particularly when concentrating while gaming. This concept isn’t a gimmick – it’s the real deal...‘Crunch Cancellation’ software is simple to use and can identify over three million crunches in real time, silencing them from travelling down the microphone.” The software can be downloaded for free on Doritos web page and works exclusively with PCs. Once activated, the brand says that the software will “eliminate all traces of Doritos crunching”. This is the latest in a number of innovations from Doritos and PepsiCo, last week PepsiCo revealed new paper outer bags for all multipack crisps in its Walkers Baked brand, in July Doritos unveiled a new Spicy Pineapple Jalapeño flavour and in March announced a new burger-flavoured crisp in collaboration with fast food giant Burger King.