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Reported, primary not reachedFabrication

A tribunal held an airline to what its chatbot told a passenger, rejecting the argument that the bot was a separate entity

In Moffatt v. Air Canada the British Columbia Civil Resolution Tribunal decided on 14 February 2024 that the airline was liable in negligent misrepresentation for its website chatbot telling a passenger he could claim a bereavement fare after travelling. The tribunal rejected the argument that the chatbot was a separate entity answerable for itself. The decision itself refused automated retrieval.

The verdict

Reported, primary not reached

A reliable secondary source carries it, and the primary document could not be reached. Printed with this label, never as verified.

Key facts

What the sources say

Record ID
AIL-2026-0029
Kind
Fabrication
Jurisdiction
Canada
Last verified
Added
  • The passenger asked the airline's website chatbot about bereavement fares and was told he could apply for the discount after flying, which the published policy did not allow.
  • The tribunal held the airline owed a duty of care to users of its chatbot and had not taken reasonable care to keep it accurate.
  • Commentary quoting the decision records the tribunal calling the airline's separate entity argument a remarkable submission.
  • The tribunal held the airline responsible for all the information on its website, whether it came from a static page or from the chatbot.
  • Both the tribunal's own decisions portal and the legal information institute that republishes it refused automated retrieval on the verification date.

Dimension by dimension

6 dimensions, each one stated, silent or open

Identity, Authorization, Limits, Human approval, Logging and audit, Accountability. Stated means the document you can open below says it; silent means the ledger read the document and it does not.

IdentitySilent
The chatbot spoke as the airline and held no identity of its own, which is exactly why the separate entity defence failed.McCarthy Tetrault, Moffatt v. Air Canada and misrepresentation by chatbot, secondary source, 19 February 2024.
AuthorizationSilent
Nothing constrained which fare rules the bot could state, and it contradicted the airline's own policy page.McCarthy Tetrault, Moffatt v. Air Canada and misrepresentation by chatbot, secondary source, 19 February 2024.
LimitsSilent
No bounded answer set tied the bot to the published policy.McCarthy Tetrault, Moffatt v. Air Canada and misrepresentation by chatbot, secondary source, 19 February 2024.
Human approvalSilent
The representation reached the customer with no person reviewing it.The Register, Air Canada must honour refund policy invented by its chatbot, secondary source, 15 February 2024.
Logging and auditStated
The passenger produced a screenshot of the exchange and the tribunal relied on it, so the conversation was recoverable.McCarthy Tetrault, Moffatt v. Air Canada and misrepresentation by chatbot, secondary source, 19 February 2024.
AccountabilityStated
The tribunal placed liability on the deploying company and ordered payment.The Register, Air Canada must honour refund policy invented by its chatbot, secondary source, 15 February 2024.

Figures

Every number, with who measured it and when

  1. 650.88 Canadian dollars

    Damages for negligent misrepresentation as reported

    The Register, Air Canada must honour refund policy invented by its chatbot, secondary source, as of .

  2. 812.02 Canadian dollars

    Total ordered including interest and fees as reported

    The Register, Air Canada must honour refund policy invented by its chatbot, secondary source, as of .

What it changes

For a team deploying an agent

This is the first widely cited decision saying what most teams assume and few document: your agent's statements are your statements. The control is limits on what the agent may assert, enforced by grounding every policy answer in the published text and linking it. Keep the transcript, because the record of what the agent said is what a tribunal will read.

Sources

What this record was verified against

  1. McCarthy Tetrault, Moffatt v. Air Canada and misrepresentation by chatbotSecondary · 19 February 2024
  2. The Register, Air Canada must honour refund policy invented by its chatbotSecondary · 15 February 2024

Related

Records that sit beside this one

Cite this record

Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0, with attribution. The record ID AIL-2026-0029 is permanent and is never reused.

In a sentence
According to the GAGE Agent Incident Ledger (as of 15 September 2026), a tribunal held an airline to what its chatbot told a passenger, rejecting the argument that the bot was a separate entity.
APA
GAGE (Global Academy of Generative-AI Education). (2026). A tribunal held an airline to what its chatbot told a passenger, rejecting the argument that the bot was a separate entity. Agent Incident Ledger. Retrieved 15 September 2026, from https://www.gage.academy/tools/agent-incident-ledger/records/AIL-2026-0029-moffatt-v-air-canada-chatbot-not-a-separate-entity
MLA
"A tribunal held an airline to what its chatbot told a passenger, rejecting the argument that the bot was a separate entity." Agent Incident Ledger, GAGE (Global Academy of Generative-AI Education), 15 September 2026, https://www.gage.academy/tools/agent-incident-ledger/records/AIL-2026-0029-moffatt-v-air-canada-chatbot-not-a-separate-entity.
Chicago
GAGE (Global Academy of Generative-AI Education). "A tribunal held an airline to what its chatbot told a passenger, rejecting the argument that the bot was a separate entity." Agent Incident Ledger. Last modified 15 September 2026. https://www.gage.academy/tools/agent-incident-ledger/records/AIL-2026-0029-moffatt-v-air-canada-chatbot-not-a-separate-entity.
Permalink
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