Case study

Air Canada Chatbot

You own what your AI says

What happened

Air Canada’s website chatbot told a customer he could claim a bereavement fare retroactively, while another page said otherwise. In Moffatt v. Air Canada (2024 BCCRT 149), the tribunal rejected the airline’s argument that the chatbot was a separate entity, and held it responsible for information on its site.

Why it matters

Accountability doesn’t transfer to software.

Lessons

• Test customer-facing AI against your policies.
• Keep humans for high-stakes answers.
• Monitor outputs after launch.

Tools for this

• Evaluating AI Quality
• Human in the Loop
• AI Risk and Governance

Sources

• McCarthy Tétrault, Moffatt v. Air Canada

Last reviewed 2026-11-02. “Why it matters” is our reading of the sources.

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