ai npcs are going to talk forever and say nothing

People hear AI NPC and imagine a bartender remembering their last quest. I imagine asking for directions and getting six paragraphs of polite fog. Handwritten NPCs repeat themselves, sure, but at least somebody decided what their lines reveal. The weird shopkeeper, the liar, the guard who hates his shift, they have a point. Generated dialogue will be impressive for ten minutes until every character sounds like customer support improvising medieval lore. I do not need infinite conversation. I need three good lines and the option to steal the cheese wheel behind them.