On Thursday, the Civil Resolution Tribunal of British Columbia (CRT) forced Air Canada to honour a fake refund policy made up by its own chatbot, in what Christopher Rivers of the CRT labelled as a “remarkable submission”.
In November 2022, Jake Moffatt, a Canadian resident grieving the loss of his grandmother, inquired about bereavement fares for a flight using the airlines online chatbot. The chatbot, instead of directing him to the correct information, suggested he book a regular ticket and request a partial refund under the airline’s bereavement policy within 90 days.
Moffatt followed the bot’s advice and purchased a full price ticket from Vancouver to Toronto. However, when applying for the refund, he learned from Air Canada employees that the airline did not permit retroactive applications.
Moffatt provided screenshots of the interaction with the chatbot to the CRT, which read, “Air Canada offers reduced bereavement fares if you need to travel…
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