In mid-February 2024, a court in Canada ordered Air Canada to pay a passenger $812 in damages (including damages, interest and fees related to the trip and litigation) after the Travel Air ticketing chatbot Canada provided the person with incorrect information about the cost of the ticket and the discount for the flight.

According to court documents, Jake Moffat’s grandmother died in November 2022, and he and his family were forced to fly to her funeral urgently. Moffat began searching for suitable flights and used a chatbot on the Air Canada website. The information system offered Moffatt a strange discount – to buy round-trip tickets and then apply retroactively for compensation for part of the cost of the tickets in case of loss of relatives. The chatbot promised. that in this case Moffat would save about $380 each way.

However, according to Air Canada rules, the loss fare cannot be used in this way, and no such compensation is due after the ticket has been purchased. As a result, Moffat had to pay the full price of the tickets of $1,630, including all airline fees.

Moffatt told the court that Air Canada must provide a partial refund of the $880 ticket, which is the claimed difference in price between the regular fare and the estimated bereavement fare.

An Air Canada representative explained to Moffatt in court that the chatbot had misled him by providing incorrect information about discounts and airfares. In addition, Air Canada said that “it cannot be held responsible for information provided by one of its agents, employees or representatives, including a chatbot.” The judge accepted the airline’s explanation and stated that “Air Canada is essentially suggesting that the chatbot is a separate legal entity that is responsible for its actions.” As a result, the airline’s arguments were rejected by the court. since it doesn’t really make sense and the judge sided with Moffat in this case.

In December 2023, user Chris Bakke shared how he was able to convince a California dealership’s ChatGPT-based chatbot to sell him a new 2024 Chevy Tahoe SUV for just $1. The price of the car starts at $60,000. Bakke then notified the dealer, who disabled the chatbot. GM said that they have nothing to do with third-party tools that the company’s partners use on their own initiative. The company noted that chatbots can attract attention with their responses, but “this is a good reminder of the importance of human intelligence” and the need to validate the content generated.