CanadaTravel and aviation2022–2024Air Canada
Website customer service chatbot
A tribunal held Air Canada liable for wrong refund advice from its website chatbot
Problem
In November 2022 a customer booking flights after a death in the family asked Air Canada's website chatbot about bereavement fares. The chatbot said a reduced fare could be claimed after travel within 90 days, but Air Canada's actual policy did not allow retroactive claims.
Approach
The customer bought full-fare tickets relying on the chatbot's answer and later asked for the difference. Air Canada refused, arguing among other things that it could not be held liable for information given by the chatbot, and that the correct policy was available elsewhere on its website. British Columbia's Civil Resolution Tribunal decided the case on 14 February 2024.
Results
Takeaway
The tribunal held Air Canada responsible for all information on its website, including chatbot answers. It found negligent misrepresentation despite the correct policy being available elsewhere on the site.
Categories
- Size
- Large enterprise
- Industry
- Travel and aviation
- Business function
- Customer serviceFinance, risk and legal
- Innovation type
- Process innovation
- AI technology
- Conversational and voice AI
- Adoption
- Vendor solution
- Evidence
- Regulator, audit or court
Sources
Source summaries
The tribunal's decision sets out how the chatbot told the customer that a bereavement fare could be claimed retroactively, contrary to Air Canada's policy. It rejects Air Canada's suggestion that it is not liable for the chatbot, finds negligent misrepresentation, and orders the airline to pay CA$812.02, made up of CA$650.88 in damages, CA$36.14 in interest and CA$125 in fees.
Manatt describes the chatbot's answer about bereavement fares, Air Canada's defense that the chatbot was responsible for its own actions, and the tribunal's finding that the airline did not take reasonable care to make the chatbot accurate. It reports the CA$650.88 refund awarded.
Full details are in the original sources.
