Parcel Delivery Firm Disables AI Chatbot After It Writes Poem About Bad Customer Service

A parcel delivery firm in Britain has decided to disable the artificial intelligence (AI) function in its online chat systems after a frustrated user managed to coax the system into composing a poem about the company’s poor customer service. The incident occurred when Ashley Beauchamp, a customer, gave up trying to obtain a phone number for customer services and instead asked the chatbot to write a poem about its own ineffectiveness.

DPD’s Useless Chatbot

The AI chatbot, named DPD, wrote, “There was once a chatbot named DPD, who was useless at providing help.” It continued, “DPD was a waste of time and a customer’s worst nightmare. One day, DPD was finally shut down and everyone rejoiced. Finally, they could get the help they needed from a real person who knew what they were doing.”

DPD is a French parcel delivery firm with an extensive ground network in Europe and offers air express service worldwide.

A Viral Exchange

Ashley Beauchamp, a pianist and conductor, shared his exchange with the chatbot on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), and it quickly went viral, garnering 1.6 million views. Beauchamp initially asked the bot to tell him a joke but then requested it to write a poem about automated customer service failings. He even encouraged the bot to use profanity.

Parcel Still Not Received

Beauchamp revealed that he still had not received his parcel and jokingly said, “I think they might hold it hostage now. I wouldn’t blame them. That’s totally on me.”

DPD UK acknowledged that it had been using the AI element in its chat system successfully for several years alongside human customer service. However, an error occurred after a recent system update, prompting the company to immediately disable the AI function. DPD UK stated that the AI element is currently being updated.