Ocado uses AI to reply to complaints, upsetting users
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UK online supermarket Ocado used AI to reply to user feedback about a technical failure; the user judged from the polite agreement, dash usage and tone that the reply was generated by AI, and considered using AI to reply to real people's complaints disrespectful to users. After the user gave 1 star in a satisfaction survey and complained, they received an apology letter with imperfect grammar that read more like a human wrote it, saying a detailed diagnosis had been forwarded to the technical team.
AI overview based on source reports · Updated 3 days ago
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- Hacker News AIJust a little AI resistance, as a treat
The author describes contacting Ocado about malformed calendar invites and receiving a reply from "Lulu" that read as AI-generated, citing sycophantic agreement, an em-dash, and a tone unlike typical customer service. After giving 1-star scores on a satisfaction survey and complaining about the AI response, they received a follow-up that felt more human and said the detailed diagnostic had been passed to the team. The author argues AI can sensibly triage or summarise customer messages, but using it to reply to a human is disrespectful.
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