The virtual assistant told him that if he purchased a normal-price ticket, he would have up to 90 days to claim back a bereavement discount. A real-live Air Canada rep confirmed he could get the bereavement discount.
Moffatt took the business to small claims court, claiming Air Canada was negligent and had misrepresented its policy. Air Canada replied, in effect, that"The court agreed."This is a remarkable submission. 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.
This is one case, and the damages were minute. Air Canada was ordered to pay Moffatt back the refund he was owed. Yet businesses need to know that they are as responsible for their AI chatbots being accurate as they are for their flesh-and-blood employees. It's that simple.