After months of resistance, Air Canada was forced to issue partial refunds to grieving passengers after the airline's chatbot inaccurately explained the airline's bereavement travel policy.
The day Jake Moffat's grandmother died, he immediately went to Air Canada's website and booked a flight from Vancouver to Toronto. Moffat didn't understand how Air Canada's bereavement rate worked, so he asked Air Canada's chatbot for clarification.
The chatbot provided inaccurate information, prompting Moffat to book the flight immediately and request a refund within 90 days. In fact, Air Canada's policy clearly states that the airline will not issue refunds for bereavement travel after the ticket is booked. Moffat followed the chatbot's advice and tried to request a refund, but was shocked when his request was denied.
Mr. Moffat spent months trying to convince Air Canada that he was owed a refund, sharing screenshots of a chatbot that clearly claimed:
Air Canada argued that Moffat should have known he could not claim bereavement fees retroactively because the chatbot's responses elsewhere were linked to the actual bereavement travel policy page. Instead of a refund, Air Canada would be best to update its chatbot and promise to give Moffat a $200 coupon to use on a future flight.
Dissatisfied with this resolution, Mr. Moffat rejected the voucher and filed a small claims lawsuit in Canada's Civil Resolution Tribunal.
According to Air Canada, Mr. Moffat should never have trusted the chatbot, and the airline should not have been held liable for the chatbot's misleading information, because Air Canada essentially The court held that “chatbots are separate legal entities that are responsible for their actions.” the command said.
Experts said: vancouver sun Moffat's case appears to be the first time a Canadian company has attempted to argue that it is not responsible for information provided by chatbots.
Christopher Rivers, a member of the tribunal that ruled in Moffat's favor, called Air Canada's defense “remarkable.”
“Air Canada maintains that it cannot be held responsible for information provided by any of its agents, servants or representatives, including chatbots,” Rivers wrote. “It doesn't explain why that would be the case,” or why a webpage titled “Bereavement Travel'' would be inherently more trustworthy than a chatbot.''
Additionally, Rivers said there is “no reason” for Moffat to believe that some parts of Air Canada's website are accurate and others are not.
Air Canada “does not explain why customers should review information on one part of its website on another part of the website,” Rivers wrote.
Ultimately, Mr. Rivers awarded Mr. Moffat a partial refund of $650.88 in Canadian dollars, which is 1,640.36 Canadian dollars (approximately $1,216) off his original fare (approximately $482), and additional damages to cover interest on airfare. The court ruled that they had the right to seek. and Moffat's court costs.
Air Canada told Ars that it complies with the ruling and considers the matter resolved.
Air Canada's chatbot appears to be disabled
When Ars visited Air Canada's website on Friday, there appeared to be no chatbot support available, suggesting that Air Canada had disabled the chatbot.
Air Canada did not respond to Ars' request to confirm whether the chatbot is still part of the airline's online support services.
