The White House has unveiled plans to regulate customer service chatbots and make it easier to cancel subscriptions. The Biden-Harris administration launched its “Time is Money” campaign intending to eliminate excessive paperwork, hold times, and general aggravation for US consumers. The campaign will see the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau tasked with creating new rules to […]
The White House has unveiled plans to regulate customer service chatbots and make it easier to cancel subscriptions.
The Biden-Harris administration launched its “Time is Money” campaign intending to eliminate excessive paperwork, hold times, and general aggravation for US consumers.
The campaign will see the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau tasked with creating new rules to clamp down on what are deemed ineffective and time-wasting chatbots used by banks and other financial institutions in the place of traditional customer service options.
While the US government acknowledged the role customer service chatbots can play in answering basic questions, it said in a statement that they “frequently provide inaccurate information and give the run-around for customers seeking a real person.”
The campaign aims to identify unlawful use of automated chatbots or AI voice recordings, including instances where customers believe they are speaking with a human being.
“Technology – such as chatbots – should be used to enhance customer service with speedy response times,” the White House stated, “not used to shirk on basic responsibilities, such as receiving a refund.”
“If you want to talk to a human, you should be able to talk to a human at convenient times and without interminable waits.”
“If you prefer to interact electronically – such as by text, email, or online portal – there should be simple and easily identified ways to do so securely.”
Other areas the White House will target include making it easier to cancel memberships and subscriptions, automatic cash refunds for unexplained cancelled flights, and allowing patients to submit health claims online.
“Many of the largest [healthcare] plans still require some customers to print out and either scan or physically mail health claims forms,” it read, “and people seeking help can encounter inaccurate or confusing websites.”
It will require health benefit plans to “make it easier to submit out-of-network claims online, provide clear information about what health plan providers are in-network, and make it easier to find information on how to appeal claim denials.”
For more technology news, click here.
