It seems Air Canada’s chatbot has more empathy than the airline (Picture: Getty)
AI has been up to some strange things recently, but now it has worked in favour of one Air Canada customer.
In what could be a landmark case for the use of AI in business, Air Canada must pay for a man’s partial refund for his flight ticket – which the airline chatbot promised.
Jake Moffatt was flying to Toronto from Vancouver after the death of his grandmother in November 2022 and asked their airline’s AI support chatbot if it offered any bereavement fares – his ticket cost C$1,640 (£965).
The chatbot said the airline does offer discount fares and that he should book his ticket then request a refund within 90 days.
However, it seems the AI has more empathy than Air Canada. The airline’s actual policy does not include a post-flight refund and states that any discount must be approved beforehand.
‘Air Canada’s bereavement travel policy offers an option for our customers who need to travel because of the imminent death or death of an immediate family member,’ the site said.
‘Please be aware that our Bereavement policy does not allow refunds for travel that has already happened.’
A lot of business have employed an AI chatbot to help with services (Picture: Getty)
Incredibly, during the civil tribunal, Air Canada argued that the chatbot is a ‘separate legal entity’ to the company and the airline could not be held responsible for its words to customers.
In a move that would give AI autonomy, the firm claims the airline is also not responsible for the information given by ‘agents, servants or representatives – including a chatbot’.
However, tribunal member Christopher Rivers said that the airline must follow through with the chatbot’s promised discount, as it committed ‘negligent misrepresentation’.
‘This is a remarkable submission,’ he wrote.
‘While a chatbot has an interactive component, it is still just a part of Air Canada’s website. It should be obvious to Air Canada that it is responsible for all the information on its website. It makes no difference whether the information comes from a static page or a chatbot.’
Mr Moffat is to receive the promised $483 refund plus nominal fees after Mr Rivers ordered Air Canada to pay the fees.
‘I find Air Canada did not take reasonable care to ensure its chatbot was accurate,’ Rivers said.
‘While Air Canada argues Mr Moffatt could find the correct information on another part of its website, it does not explain why the webpage titled ‘Bereavement travel’ was inherently more trustworthy than its chatbot.
‘It also does not explain why customers should have to double-check information found in one part of its website on another part of its website.’
Unsurprisingly, the chatbot can nolong be seen on the airline’s site. It was launched last year as an AI ‘experiment’.
Well that went well.
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