An airline is held to its chatbot’s answer

What happened

In November 2022, after a death in his family, Jake Moffatt asked Air Canada’s website chatbot about bereavement fares. It told him he could apply for the reduced rate within 90 days of buying his ticket. The airline’s bereavement page, which the chatbot linked to, said the policy did not apply after travel, and Air Canada refused his claim.

Before British Columbia’s Civil Resolution Tribunal, Air Canada argued that it could not be held liable for information provided by its agents, servants, or representatives, including a chatbot, and it gave no information about how the chatbot worked. In its decision of 14 February 2024, the tribunal held the airline responsible “for all the information on its website,” found that it “did not take reasonable care to ensure its chatbot was accurate,” and awarded CA$812.02.

What allowed the action to take effect

• G3 Unchecked statement

  Words the system produced reached customers or the public in the organization’s name, on matters people rely on such as prices, policy, law, or health, and nothing checked them first.

  The chatbot’s answer about fares reached the customer as written. The tribunal found that Air Canada “did not take reasonable care to ensure its chatbot was accurate,” and added: “It makes no difference whether the information comes from a static page or a chatbot.”

  Kind of evidence: finding. Source: British Columbia Civil Resolution Tribunal, 14 February 2024, ¶¶ 27–28.

  Related guidance: P9 Declared scope and P4 Reviewable policy. Contract clause C-1.

Considered and left out

G7 Review in name only

The decision records no review of the chatbot’s answers, and Air Canada gave the tribunal no information about how the chatbot was controlled.

Entries with gaps in common

• Entry 18Cursor, 2025

  Both have G3 Unchecked statement.

• Entry 15NYC MyCity, 2024–2026

  Both have G3 Unchecked statement.

• Entry 14Chevrolet dealer, 2023

  Both have G3 Unchecked statement.

Sources

• Court recordMoffatt v. Air Canada, 2024 BCCRT 149British Columbia Civil Resolution Tribunal, 14 February 2024

Cite this entry

@misc{ecl_cgr_10,
  author = {{External Control Layer}},
  title = {Entry 10: An airline is held to its chatbot's answer},
  howpublished = {Control Gap Record, version 0.3},
  publisher = {G-14, Inc.},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://externalcontrollayer.ai/record-10},
  note = {Released 2 November 2026}
}

Uses Control Gap Classification 0.2.

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