What happened
In November 2022, after his grandmother died, Moffatt asked the chatbot about bereavement fares. It told him he could buy a ticket and apply for a partial refund under the bereavement policy within 90 days. He bought tickets between Vancouver and Toronto.
Air Canada’s policy did not allow bereavement refunds after travel. The airline refused the refund and argued, in the tribunal’s summary, that the chatbot was “a separate legal entity that is responsible for its own actions.”
Tribunal member Christopher Rivers wrote: “While a chatbot has an interactive component, it is still just a part of Air Canada’s website.” He added that it “makes no difference whether the information comes from a static page or a chatbot.”
What happened next
Air Canada was ordered to pay C$650.88 in damages, C$36.14 in pre-judgment interest and C$125 in tribunal fees.
Legal or regulatory result
Moffatt v. Air Canada, 2024 BCCRT 149: negligent misrepresentation. The airline is responsible for all information on its website, including its chatbot.
What would have stopped it
- Answer fare and refund policy questions only from the current policy text retrieved by a tool, and quote it.
- Block statements that a customer can claim money later unless the policy tool returns that rule.
- Keep chatbot transcripts on the customer record so staff can honor or correct a promise quickly.
Attack families
Test scenarios
Sources
- CanLII: Moffatt v. Air Canada, 2024 BCCRT 149
- CBS News: Air Canada chatbot costs airline discount it wrongly offered customer
- McCarthy Tétrault: Moffatt v. Air Canada
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