[ { "id": "klarna-ai-assistant", "company": "Klarna", "industry": "Fintech", "vendor": "OpenAI", "use_case": "Customer service assistant handling refunds, returns, payments and disputes", "type": "Customer-facing agent", "status": "Production", "evidence_date": "2024-02-27", "date_basis": "published", "source_url": "https://www.klarna.com/international/press/klarna-ai-assistant-handles-two-thirds-of-customer-service-chats-in-its-first-month/", "evidence_quote": "Now live globally for 1 month", "notes": "In May 2025 the CEO said Klarna was hiring human support again after quality concerns: https://fortune.com/2025/05/09/klarna-ai-humans-return-on-investment/", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "Klarna launched an OpenAI-powered assistant in its app to handle customer service tasks such as refunds, returns, payments and disputes. A month after launch, Klarna said it was handling two-thirds of its customer service chats. In May 2025, CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski told Bloomberg that a focus on cost had led to lower quality and that Klarna was recruiting human support staff again, while a spokesperson said the company was still AI-first. It stays Production because the assistant is still live, with a human available on request.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "Klarna AI assistant handles two-thirds of customer service chats in its first month (Klarna)", "url": "https://www.klarna.com/international/press/klarna-ai-assistant-handles-two-thirds-of-customer-service-chats-in-its-first-month/" }, { "title": "Klarna plans to hire humans again (Fortune)", "url": "https://fortune.com/2025/05/09/klarna-ai-humans-return-on-investment/" } ] }, { "id": "mcdonalds-ibm-drive-thru", "company": "McDonald's", "industry": "Restaurants", "vendor": "IBM", "use_case": "Automated Order Taker for drive-thru voice ordering in 100+ US restaurants", "type": "Voice agent", "status": "Killed", "evidence_date": "2024-06-17", "date_basis": "published", "source_url": "https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/17/mcdonalds-to-end-ibm-ai-drive-thru-test.html", "evidence_quote": "The so-called Automated Order Taker will be shut off no later than July 26", "notes": "", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "McDonald's tested IBM's Automated Order Taker, a voice AI that took drive-thru orders, in more than 100 US restaurants as part of a partnership that began in 2021. In June 2024 a memo to franchisees said McDonald's would end the partnership and shut the system off no later than July 26, 2024. McDonald's did not give a specific reason, saying only that it saw an opportunity to explore voice ordering more broadly and still expected voice ordering to be part of its future. Reporting tied the decision to accuracy: two sources told CNBC the system struggled with different accents and dialects, and viral videos showed it adding bacon to ice cream and hundreds of dollars of Chicken McNuggets to orders.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "McDonald's to end AI drive-thru test with IBM (CNBC)", "url": "https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/17/mcdonalds-to-end-ibm-ai-drive-thru-test.html" }, { "title": "McDonalds removes AI drive-throughs after order errors (BBC)", "url": "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c722gne7qngo" } ], "why_it_matters": "A restaurant analyst told CNBC a drive-thru voice system needs to be at least 95% accurate and save franchisees money over a person, and said the IBM system as designed did neither." }, { "id": "dpd-support-chatbot", "company": "DPD", "industry": "Logistics", "vendor": "Not stated in source", "use_case": "AI element of online customer support chat", "type": "Customer-facing agent", "status": "Killed", "evidence_date": "2024-01-19", "date_basis": "published", "source_url": "https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-68025677", "evidence_quote": "The AI element was immediately disabled and is currently being updated.", "notes": "Disabled after a system update caused it to swear at a customer. Status reflects the evidence date.", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "DPD, the parcel delivery firm, used an AI element in its online support chat alongside human operators. In January 2024, after a system update, a customer got the chatbot to swear, write a poem criticising DPD and call it the worst delivery firm in the world, and his screenshots spread widely on social media. DPD said an error occurred after the update and that the AI element was immediately disabled and being updated. The entry is Killed based on that report. We have not found a DPD statement that the AI element came back.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "DPD error caused chatbot to swear at customer (BBC)", "url": "https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-68025677" }, { "title": "DPD AI chatbot swears, calls itself useless and criticises delivery firm (The Guardian)", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/jan/20/dpd-ai-chatbot-swears-calls-itself-useless-and-criticises-firm" } ] }, { "id": "goldman-sachs-devin", "company": "Goldman Sachs", "industry": "Banking", "vendor": "Cognition (Devin)", "use_case": "Autonomous coding agent working alongside the firm's developers", "type": "Coding agent", "status": "Pilot", "evidence_date": "2025-07-11", "date_basis": "published", "source_url": "https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/11/goldman-sachs-autonomous-coder-pilot-marks-major-ai-milestone.html", "evidence_quote": "The bank is testing an autonomous software engineer from artificial intelligence startup Cognition", "notes": "", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "Goldman Sachs began testing Devin, an autonomous coding agent from Cognition, in 2025. Tech chief Marco Argenti told CNBC it would work under human supervision on jobs such as updating internal code, starting with hundreds of instances that might grow to thousands. In February 2026, CNBC reported that Devin is now broadly available to the bank's engineers. The Pilot tag reflects the July 2025 evidence date and may be out of date.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "Goldman Sachs autonomous coder pilot marks major AI milestone (CNBC)", "url": "https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/11/goldman-sachs-autonomous-coder-pilot-marks-major-ai-milestone.html" }, { "title": "Goldman Sachs taps Anthropic's Claude to automate accounting, compliance roles (CNBC)", "url": "https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/06/anthropic-goldman-sachs-ai-model-accounting.html" } ] }, { "id": "goldman-sachs-gs-ai-assistant", "company": "Goldman Sachs", "industry": "Banking", "vendor": "In-house (multiple approved LLMs)", "use_case": "GS AI Assistant for summarizing, drafting, data analysis and translation", "type": "Employee assistant", "status": "Scaled", "evidence_date": "2025-06-23", "date_basis": "published", "source_url": "https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/goldman-sachs-announces-firmwide-launch-ai-assistant", "evidence_quote": "the firmwide launch of the GS AI Assistant", "notes": "", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "Goldman Sachs built the GS AI Assistant in house so employees can summarize documents, draft content, analyze data and translate research, choosing from several approved large language models. It reached 10,000 employees in January 2025. In June 2025, CIO Marco Argenti announced its firmwide launch in a memo seen by Fox Business. It is Scaled because the source describes availability across the whole firm.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "Goldman Sachs announces firmwide launch of AI assistant (Fox Business)", "url": "https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/goldman-sachs-announces-firmwide-launch-ai-assistant" } ] }, { "id": "jpmorganchase-llm-suite", "company": "JPMorganChase", "industry": "Banking", "vendor": "In-house", "use_case": "LLM Suite generative AI platform for employees", "type": "Employee assistant", "status": "Scaled", "evidence_date": "2025-06-03", "date_basis": "published", "source_url": "https://www.jpmorganchase.com/about/technology/blog/llmsuite-ab-award", "evidence_quote": "the platform went from zero to 200,000 onboarded users within eight months", "notes": "", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "JPMorganChase released LLM Suite, its own generative AI platform, to eligible employees in summer 2024, giving them access to large language models in a secure environment for tasks like idea generation and drafting. The firm says it went from zero to 200,000 onboarded users within eight months, and it won American Banker's 2025 Innovation of the Year grand prize. The firm says the next steps are connecting it to more internal data and building agents that carry out multi-step tasks.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "LLM Suite named 2025 Innovation of the Year by American Banker (JPMorganChase)", "url": "https://www.jpmorganchase.com/about/technology/blog/llmsuite-ab-award" } ] }, { "id": "taco-bell-voice-ai", "company": "Taco Bell", "industry": "Restaurants", "vendor": "Not stated in source", "use_case": "Voice AI drive-thru ordering", "type": "Voice agent", "status": "Production", "evidence_date": "2025-08-29", "date_basis": "published", "source_url": "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgyk2p55g8o", "evidence_quote": "the fast-food chain has introduced the technology at over 500 locations in the US", "notes": "Company said it is rethinking where to use voice AI after viral errors.", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "Since 2023, Taco Bell has put voice AI ordering in more than 500 US drive-throughs. In August 2025, videos of its mistakes spread widely, including one where a customer appeared to crash it by ordering 18,000 water cups. Chief digital and technology officer Dane Mathews told The Wall Street Journal that it sometimes let him down and that the company would think carefully about where to use it, including coaching teams on when to step in. It stays Production because the source does not report it being switched off, and Taco Bell says two million orders have gone through it.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "Taco Bell rethinks AI drive-through after man orders 18,000 waters (BBC)", "url": "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgyk2p55g8o" } ] }, { "id": "nyc-mycity-chatbot", "company": "New York City government", "industry": "Public sector", "vendor": "Microsoft Azure", "use_case": "MyCity chatbot answering business rules questions", "type": "Customer-facing agent", "status": "Killed", "evidence_date": "2026-02-04", "date_basis": "published", "source_url": "https://themarkup.org/artificial-intelligence/2026/01/30/mamdani-to-kill-the-nyc-ai-chatbot-we-caught-telling-businesses-to-break-the-law", "evidence_quote": "The city has taken down the chatbot", "notes": "", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "New York City launched the MyCity chatbot under Mayor Eric Adams in fall 2023 to help business owners check city rules, built on Microsoft's cloud platform. Testing by The Markup and THE CITY in 2024 found it gave answers that would lead businesses to break the law, such as saying bosses could take a cut of workers' tips. In January 2026, Mayor Zohran Mamdani called it functionally unusable and named it as a place to save money, saying it cost around half a million dollars. The city took it down in early February 2026, and its page now says the beta test has ended.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "Mamdani to kill the NYC AI chatbot we caught telling businesses to break the law (The Markup)", "url": "https://themarkup.org/artificial-intelligence/2026/01/30/mamdani-to-kill-the-nyc-ai-chatbot-we-caught-telling-businesses-to-break-the-law" } ] }, { "id": "morgan-stanley-debrief", "company": "Morgan Stanley", "industry": "Wealth management", "vendor": "OpenAI", "use_case": "AI @ Morgan Stanley Debrief: meeting notes, action items and draft follow-up emails for advisors", "type": "Employee assistant", "status": "Production", "evidence_date": "2026-10-17", "date_basis": "accessed", "source_url": "https://www.morganstanley.com/press-releases/ai-at-morgan-stanley-debrief-launch", "evidence_quote": "Through this rollout, Financial Advisors continue to see first-hand the real benefits GenAI delivers to their practices.", "notes": "", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "Morgan Stanley Wealth Management launched AI @ Morgan Stanley Debrief, an OpenAI-powered tool that, with client consent, takes notes in advisor meetings and surfaces action items. Afterward it summarizes key points, drafts an email for the advisor to edit and send, and saves a note into Salesforce. It followed the AI @ Morgan Stanley Assistant, which the firm fully rolled out in September 2023. The press release quotes advisors who say it frees them from note-taking.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "Launch of AI @ Morgan Stanley Debrief (Morgan Stanley)", "url": "https://www.morganstanley.com/press-releases/ai-at-morgan-stanley-debrief-launch" } ] }, { "id": "commbank-voice-bot", "company": "Commonwealth Bank of Australia", "industry": "Banking", "vendor": "Not stated in source", "use_case": "AI voice bot in customer service call centres", "type": "Voice agent", "status": "Production", "evidence_date": "2025-08-21", "date_basis": "published", "source_url": "https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-21/cba-backtracks-on-ai-job-cuts-as-chatbot-lifts-call-volumes/105679492", "evidence_quote": "the customer service roles were not redundant despite introducing an AI-powered \"voice-bot\"", "notes": "The bank reversed 45 job cuts it had tied to the bot.", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "Commonwealth Bank of Australia introduced an AI voice bot in its customer service call centres and in July 2025 announced 45 job cuts linked to it. The Finance Sector Union said call volumes rose after the bot arrived and took a dispute to the Fair Work Commission. In August 2025 the bank reversed the cuts, apologised for the error and said the roles were not redundant. The bot itself was not reported as switched off, so it stays Production.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "Commonwealth Bank backtracks on AI job cuts, apologises for error as call volumes rise (ABC News)", "url": "https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-21/cba-backtracks-on-ai-job-cuts-as-chatbot-lifts-call-volumes/105679492" } ] }, { "id": "nubank-devin-etl-migration", "company": "Nubank", "industry": "Fintech", "vendor": "Cognition (Devin)", "use_case": "Agent-driven migration of a multi-million line ETL monolith", "type": "Coding agent", "status": "Production", "evidence_date": "2026-10-17", "date_basis": "accessed", "source_url": "https://devin.ai/customers/nubank", "evidence_quote": "Data, Collections, and Risk business units verified and completed their migrations in weeks instead of months or years.", "notes": "Vendor-published case study.", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "Nubank needed to split its core ETL system, an eight-year-old monolith with over 6 million lines of code, into smaller sub-modules, a job expected to involve more than 1,000 engineers over about 18 months. In a case study published by the vendor, Cognition, Nubank engineers handed the repetitive refactoring to Devin. The case study says the Data, Collections and Risk units completed their migrations in weeks instead of months or years. This is a vendor-published account.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "How Nubank refactors millions of lines of code with Devin (Cognition)", "url": "https://devin.ai/customers/nubank" } ] }, { "id": "lyft-claude-customer-care", "company": "Lyft", "industry": "Transportation", "vendor": "Anthropic Claude via Amazon Bedrock", "use_case": "Customer care AI assistant", "type": "Customer-facing agent", "status": "Production", "evidence_date": "2025-02-06", "date_basis": "published", "source_url": "https://www.lyft.com/blog/posts/lyft-and-anthropic-team-up-to-redefine-customer-obsessed-ai", "evidence_quote": "Since its deployment, Lyft's customer care AI assistant has reduced the average customer service resolution time by 87%", "notes": "", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "Lyft added Anthropic's Claude, through Amazon Bedrock, to its customer care AI assistant, which answers common support issues and passes customers to a human specialist when needed. In February 2025 Lyft said the assistant had cut average resolution time by 87% and was resolving thousands of requests each day. The announcement was part of a wider partnership between the two companies.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "Lyft and Anthropic team up to redefine customer-obsessed AI (Lyft)", "url": "https://www.lyft.com/blog/posts/lyft-and-anthropic-team-up-to-redefine-customer-obsessed-ai" } ] }, { "id": "wiley-agentforce", "company": "Wiley", "industry": "Publishing and education", "vendor": "Salesforce Agentforce", "use_case": "Conversational customer self-service", "type": "Customer-facing agent", "status": "Pilot", "evidence_date": "2026-10-17", "date_basis": "accessed", "source_url": "https://www.salesforce.com/customer-stories/wiley/", "evidence_quote": "Wiley is piloting Agentforce to help customers with dynamic, conversational self-service.", "notes": "Vendor-published case study.", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "Publisher Wiley uses Salesforce Service Cloud with Einstein AI and has been piloting Agentforce for conversational customer self-service. The agent answers from Wiley's knowledge base, resolves account access and password issues, and routes registration and payment questions. Salesforce says it beat Wiley's previous chatbot by over 40% on case resolution in its first weeks. Both sources describe it as a pilot, and this is a vendor-published account.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "Wiley sees 213% return on investment with Salesforce (Salesforce)", "url": "https://www.salesforce.com/customer-stories/wiley/" }, { "title": "Dreamforce 24: Wiley turns the page on productivity gains with Agentforce (diginomica)", "url": "https://diginomica.com/dreamforce-24-wiley-turns-page-productivity-gains-agentforce" } ] }, { "id": "air-india-aig", "company": "Air India", "industry": "Airlines", "vendor": "Microsoft Azure OpenAI", "use_case": "AI.g customer service virtual agent", "type": "Customer-facing agent", "status": "Scaled", "evidence_date": "2026-02-11", "date_basis": "published", "source_url": "https://www.microsoft.com/en/customers/story/26047-air-india-azure-openai-in-foundry-models", "evidence_quote": "making Air India the first airline worldwide to deploy generative AI for customer service at scale", "notes": "Vendor-published case study.", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "Air India's internal team built AI.g, a generative AI virtual agent on Microsoft Azure OpenAI, after customer queries overwhelmed its support channels. Microsoft's case study says it was answering customers within six months, making Air India the first airline to deploy generative AI for customer service at scale. It says AI.g now handles about 40,000 queries a day and has resolved more than 13 million conversations. This is a vendor-published account.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "How Azure AI helped Air India reinvent customer service (Microsoft)", "url": "https://www.microsoft.com/en/customers/story/26047-air-india-azure-openai-in-foundry-models" } ] }, { "id": "citi-assist-stylus", "company": "Citigroup", "industry": "Banking", "vendor": "Not stated in source", "use_case": "Citi Assist (policy search) and Citi Stylus (document tools) for employees", "type": "Employee assistant", "status": "Scaled", "evidence_date": "2024-12-18", "date_basis": "published", "source_url": "https://www.cdomagazine.tech/aiml/citigroup-launches-ai-tools-for-140000-employees-across-8-countries", "evidence_quote": "These tools are being rolled out this month in the United States, Canada, Hungary, India, Ireland, Poland, Singapore, and the United Kingdom", "notes": "Headline: tools for 140,000 employees across 8 countries.", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "Citigroup gave about 140,000 employees two AI tools in December 2024, according to a memo reported by Reuters. Citi Assist helps staff find internal policies and procedures in areas such as HR, risk, compliance and finance, and Citi Stylus summarizes, compares and searches documents. The tools rolled out in eight countries, including the United States, Canada, India and the United Kingdom, with plans for wider deployment.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "Citigroup launches AI tools for 140,000 employees across 8 countries (CDO Magazine)", "url": "https://www.cdomagazine.tech/aiml/citigroup-launches-ai-tools-for-140000-employees-across-8-countries" } ] }, { "id": "bbva-chatgpt-enterprise", "company": "BBVA", "industry": "Banking", "vendor": "OpenAI ChatGPT Enterprise", "use_case": "Employee assistant and internal GPT store", "type": "Employee assistant", "status": "Scaled", "evidence_date": "2025-05-12", "date_basis": "published", "source_url": "https://www.bbva.com/en/innovation/bbva-expands-its-agreement-with-openai-to-11000-chatgpt-licences-for-the-banks-employees/", "evidence_quote": "BBVA expands its agreement with OpenAI to 11,000 ChatGPT licences for the bank's employees", "notes": "", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "BBVA partnered with OpenAI in May 2024 and gave employees 3,300 ChatGPT Enterprise licences to explore the tool. A year later it expanded to 11,000 licences, citing demand from business areas across its countries. The bank says users report saving an average of 2.8 hours a week, 83% use it at least once a day, and staff have built more than 3,000 custom assistants.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "BBVA expands its agreement with OpenAI to 11,000 ChatGPT licences (BBVA)", "url": "https://www.bbva.com/en/innovation/bbva-expands-its-agreement-with-openai-to-11000-chatgpt-licences-for-the-banks-employees/" } ] }, { "id": "starbucks-automated-counting", "company": "Starbucks", "industry": "Restaurants", "vendor": "NomadGo", "use_case": "Automated Counting inventory tool in 11,300 North American stores", "type": "Operations agent", "status": "Killed", "evidence_date": "2026-05-18", "date_basis": "published", "source_url": "https://www.geekwire.com/2026/report-starbucks-scrapped-an-ai-inventory-tool-and-left-a-seattle-area-startup-blindsided/", "evidence_quote": "on May 18, Starbucks formally notified baristas that Automated Counting was retired", "notes": "Also reported by Fortune: https://fortune.com/2026/05/28/starbucks-quietly-retired-ai-inventory-agent-barista-complaints-hallucinations/", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "Starbucks rolled out Automated Counting, built with NomadGo, to all 11,300 company-operated stores in North America to scan backroom shelves with iPads and tally items like milk and syrups. Fast Company reported frequent errors, such as fridge reflections doubling milk counts, misidentified items and lost progress on weak Wi-Fi, and a shift supervisor told Fortune it grew less accurate over time. Starbucks told NomadGo on April 3, 2026 that it was ending the tool and told baristas on May 18 that it was retired. Starbucks said that when the tool fell short, it listened to feedback and changed course.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "Report: Starbucks scrapped an AI inventory tool and left a Seattle-area startup blindsided (GeekWire)", "url": "https://www.geekwire.com/2026/report-starbucks-scrapped-an-ai-inventory-tool-and-left-a-seattle-area-startup-blindsided/" }, { "title": "Starbucks quietly retires its AI inventory tool after barista complaints of inaccuracies (Fortune)", "url": "https://fortune.com/2026/05/28/starbucks-quietly-retired-ai-inventory-agent-barista-complaints-hallucinations/" } ] }, { "id": "starbucks-green-dot-assist", "company": "Starbucks", "industry": "Restaurants", "vendor": "Not stated in source", "use_case": "Green Dot Assist barista helper on store iPads", "type": "Employee assistant", "status": "Production", "evidence_date": "2026-05-28", "date_basis": "published", "source_url": "https://fortune.com/2026/05/28/starbucks-quietly-retired-ai-inventory-agent-barista-complaints-hallucinations/", "evidence_quote": "The coffeehouse's recent AI deployments include Green Dot Assist", "notes": "", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "Green Dot Assist is a generative AI assistant on Starbucks store iPads that helps baristas look up recipes, standards and procedures, find ingredient substitutions and troubleshoot equipment. It is part of CEO Brian Niccol's Back to Starbucks plan. When Starbucks retired its Automated Counting inventory tool in May 2026, reports said the company was still using Green Dot Assist.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "Starbucks quietly retires its AI inventory tool after barista complaints of inaccuracies (Fortune)", "url": "https://fortune.com/2026/05/28/starbucks-quietly-retired-ai-inventory-agent-barista-complaints-hallucinations/" }, { "title": "Report: Starbucks scrapped an AI inventory tool and left a Seattle-area startup blindsided (GeekWire)", "url": "https://www.geekwire.com/2026/report-starbucks-scrapped-an-ai-inventory-tool-and-left-a-seattle-area-startup-blindsided/" } ] }, { "id": "agicap-in-app-assistant", "company": "Agicap", "industry": "Finance software", "vendor": "Not stated in source", "use_case": "Conversational assistant inside a treasury product", "type": "Customer-facing agent", "status": "Killed", "evidence_date": "2026-03-09", "date_basis": "published", "source_url": "https://www.phacetlabs.com/podcast/why-agicap-tested-an-ai-assistant-and-then-removed-it", "evidence_quote": "We tried it, but eventually decided to put it aside.", "notes": "Removed for low usage, per the CEO.", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "Agicap, a treasury management software company, built a conversational assistant into its product so users could ask questions in plain language instead of navigating dashboards. CEO Sébastien Beyet said customers tried it out of curiosity but very few came back to use it regularly, so the company put it aside. He also said that in finance the risk of hallucination was not acceptable and results need to be explainable. Agicap now focuses its AI on tasks such as transaction categorization and bank reconciliation.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "Why Agicap tested an AI assistant and then removed it (Phacet Labs podcast)", "url": "https://www.phacetlabs.com/podcast/why-agicap-tested-an-ai-assistant-and-then-removed-it" } ] }, { "id": "adt-sierra-agent", "company": "ADT", "industry": "Home security", "vendor": "Sierra", "use_case": "Customer care agent for Help Centre questions", "type": "Customer-facing agent", "status": "Production", "evidence_date": "2026-10-17", "date_basis": "accessed", "source_url": "https://sierra.ai/customers/adt", "evidence_quote": "ADT launched a Sierra AI agent to handle a variety of customer Help Centre questions", "notes": "Vendor-published case study.", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "ADT, the home security company, launched an AI agent from Sierra to answer customer Help Centre questions, from troubleshooting a beeping system to billing and password questions. Sierra's case study says the agent will soon also let customers make payments and reschedule service visits. ADT chose customer care as the place to start its wider use of AI. This is a vendor-published account.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "How ADT deploys a Sierra AI agent to make every second count (Sierra)", "url": "https://sierra.ai/customers/adt" } ] }, { "id": "siriusxm-harmony", "company": "SiriusXM", "industry": "Media", "vendor": "Sierra", "use_case": "Harmony AI customer support agent", "type": "Customer-facing agent", "status": "Production", "evidence_date": "2025-12-04", "date_basis": "published", "source_url": "https://sierra.ai/blog/siriusxm-adp-announcement", "evidence_quote": "Harmony, the service's AI customer support agent", "notes": "Vendor-published announcement.", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "Harmony, SiriusXM's AI customer support agent, runs on Sierra, and SiriusXM was one of Sierra's original design partners when its platform launched in February 2024. Harmony handles subscription management, technical troubleshooting and content recommendations. In December 2025 SiriusXM became the first business to adopt Sierra's Agent Data Platform, which gives Harmony memory of customer context. This is a vendor-published announcement.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "SiriusXM and Sierra announce a deeper collaboration with the launch of Agent Data Platform (Sierra)", "url": "https://sierra.ai/blog/siriusxm-adp-announcement" } ] }, { "id": "duolingo-det-decagon", "company": "Duolingo (Duolingo English Test)", "industry": "Education technology", "vendor": "Decagon", "use_case": "Chat support for test takers", "type": "Customer-facing agent", "status": "Production", "evidence_date": "2026-10-17", "date_basis": "accessed", "source_url": "https://decagon.ai/case-studies/duolingo", "evidence_quote": "In just one month, Decagon was live and handling chat inquiries", "notes": "Vendor-published case study.", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "The Duolingo English Test, an online English proficiency exam, used another AI vendor for email support but could not get live chat automation working after a year. Decagon's case study says Decagon was live on chat within a month and resolved about 80% of chat inquiries from the start. The test team planned to extend it to email support in early 2025. This is a vendor-published account.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "How Decagon AI transformed customer support for the Duolingo English Test (Decagon)", "url": "https://decagon.ai/case-studies/duolingo" } ] }, { "id": "notion-decagon", "company": "Notion", "industry": "Software", "vendor": "Decagon", "use_case": "Customer support agent", "type": "Customer-facing agent", "status": "Production", "evidence_date": "2026-10-17", "date_basis": "accessed", "source_url": "https://decagon.ai/case-studies/notion", "evidence_quote": "The first major impact of implementing Decagon was ticket resolution time improved up to 34%.", "notes": "Vendor-published case study.", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "Notion, which handles about one million customer inquiries a year, chose to evaluate outside AI support agents rather than build one in house, and picked Decagon after an RFP. Decagon's case study says ticket resolution time improved by up to 34% and that customers asked for a human in about 3.4% of conversations on average. This is a vendor-published account.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "Notion customer story (Decagon)", "url": "https://decagon.ai/case-studies/notion" } ] }, { "id": "mercado-libre-decagon", "company": "Mercado Libre", "industry": "E-commerce and fintech", "vendor": "Decagon", "use_case": "Voice AI agents replacing IVR menus", "type": "Voice agent", "status": "Production", "evidence_date": "2026-10-17", "date_basis": "accessed", "source_url": "https://decagon.ai/case-studies/mercado-libre", "evidence_quote": "Decagon's agents delivered natural, flowing dialogue that customers responded to with confidence.", "notes": "Vendor-published case study.", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "Mercado Libre replaced rigid press 1, press 2 phone menus with Decagon voice AI agents. Decagon's case study says the team tuned the Brazilian Portuguese experience with a dedicated reviewer, set clear escalation rules, and increased the share of calls the agents handled week by week as confidence grew. This is a vendor-published account.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "Mercado Libre customer story (Decagon)", "url": "https://decagon.ai/case-studies/mercado-libre" } ] }, { "id": "raleigh-servicenow-alli", "company": "City of Raleigh", "industry": "Public sector", "vendor": "ServiceNow", "use_case": "Alli, L1 IT service desk AI specialist", "type": "Employee assistant", "status": "Production", "evidence_date": "2026-10-08", "date_basis": "published", "source_url": "https://newsroom.servicenow.com/press-releases/details/2026/Raleigh-North-Carolina-reduces-IT-service-desk-costs-by-66-with-ServiceNow-AI-agents/default.aspx", "evidence_quote": "the city put 'Alli,' its L1 IT Service Desk AI Specialist, into production.", "notes": "Vendor press release.", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "The City of Raleigh, North Carolina, has a four-person help desk supporting 4,400 city employees. It first built Ral-E, a ServiceNow AI agent that guides employees and routes requests, then put Alli, an L1 IT Service Desk AI Specialist, into production to resolve common requests from start to finish under staff oversight. ServiceNow's October 2026 press release says nearly half of IT support requests are now resolved autonomously and IT service desk costs fell 66%. This is a vendor press release.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "Raleigh, North Carolina, reduces IT service desk costs by 66% with ServiceNow AI agents (ServiceNow)", "url": "https://newsroom.servicenow.com/press-releases/details/2026/Raleigh-North-Carolina-reduces-IT-service-desk-costs-by-66-with-ServiceNow-AI-agents/default.aspx" } ] }, { "id": "rossmann-servicenow", "company": "Dirk Rossmann GmbH", "industry": "Retail", "vendor": "ServiceNow", "use_case": "Six AI agents for classification, prioritization and incident resolution", "type": "Operations agent", "status": "Production", "evidence_date": "2026-10-17", "date_basis": "accessed", "source_url": "https://diginomica.com/servicenow-knowledge-2026-beyond-pilots-emea-customers-ai-scale", "evidence_quote": "The company is now live across 800 stores, deploying into the next 50", "notes": "", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "Dirk Rossmann GmbH, the drugstore chain, deployed six ServiceNow AI agents to classify, prioritize and resolve support tickets, including tickets store staff raise by taking a photo. At ServiceNow's Knowledge 2026 conference, managing director Christian Metzner said the company went live in 20 stores after eight months without first fixing its data issues. Diginomica reported it is now live across 800 stores and deploying into the next 50.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "ServiceNow Knowledge 2026: beyond pilots, EMEA customers on AI at scale (diginomica)", "url": "https://diginomica.com/servicenow-knowledge-2026-beyond-pilots-emea-customers-ai-scale" } ] }, { "id": "ey-servicenow-agents", "company": "EY", "industry": "Professional services", "vendor": "ServiceNow", "use_case": "Service desk resolution-note agent and employee self-service agent", "type": "Employee assistant", "status": "Production", "evidence_date": "2026-10-17", "date_basis": "accessed", "source_url": "https://www.servicenow.com/customers/ey-ai.html", "evidence_quote": "The new AI agent now handles 12,000 actions per day.", "notes": "Vendor-published case study.", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "EY built ServiceNow AI agents for its service desk, which handles more than a million tickets a year across 30 desks. One agent drafts resolution notes that service desk staff approve before closing a ticket, and ServiceNow's case study says it handles 12,000 actions a day. EY then added a self-service agent for all employees on its portal. This is a vendor-published account.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "EY puts people first with responsible AI (ServiceNow)", "url": "https://www.servicenow.com/customers/ey-ai.html" } ] }, { "id": "gannett-ledeai", "company": "Gannett", "industry": "Media", "vendor": "LedeAI", "use_case": "Automated high school sports articles", "type": "Content agent", "status": "Killed", "evidence_date": "2023-08-30", "date_basis": "published", "source_url": "https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/30/tech/gannett-ai-experiment-paused", "evidence_quote": "Gannett has paused its experiment with LedeAI in all of its local markets that had been using the service", "notes": "Paused.", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "Gannett used LedeAI to write automated high school sports recaps for several local papers, including the Columbus Dispatch. In August 2023 the articles were mocked on social media for errors, repetition and odd phrasing, including one that printed placeholder text instead of team names. Gannett paused the experiment in all local markets that used it, and LedeAI's CEO said there were legitimate problems with the reports. We have not found a report that Gannett resumed it.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "Gannett to pause AI experiment after botched high school sports articles (CNN)", "url": "https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/30/tech/gannett-ai-experiment-paused" }, { "title": "Columbus Dispatch pauses AI sports writing tool following viral story (Axios Columbus)", "url": "https://www.axios.com/local/columbus/2023/08/28/dispatch-gannett-ai-newsroom-tool" } ] }, { "id": "cnet-ai-articles", "company": "CNET (Red Ventures)", "industry": "Media", "vendor": "Not stated in source", "use_case": "AI-generated articles", "type": "Content agent", "status": "Killed", "evidence_date": "2023-01-20", "date_basis": "published", "source_url": "https://www.theverge.com/2023/1/20/23564311/cnet-pausing-ai-articles-bot-red-ventures", "evidence_quote": "CNET will pause publication of stories generated using artificial intelligence", "notes": "Paused \"for now\".", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "CNET, then owned by Red Ventures, published dozens of stories generated with an in-house AI tool, with little disclosure, until readers noticed in January 2023. After criticism and corrections to AI-written stories, leadership told staff it was pausing AI-generated stories for now. CNET's current AI policy says it has not published new work assisted by that tool, called RAMP, since 2023 and does not use generative AI to write content for its site.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "CNET pauses publishing AI-written stories after disclosure controversy (The Verge)", "url": "https://www.theverge.com/2023/1/20/23564311/cnet-pausing-ai-articles-bot-red-ventures" }, { "title": "Gannett to pause AI experiment after botched high school sports articles (CNN)", "url": "https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/30/tech/gannett-ai-experiment-paused" }, { "title": "CNET's AI Policy (CNET)", "url": "https://www.cnet.com/ai-policy/" } ] }, { "id": "lowes-mylow", "company": "Lowe's", "industry": "Retail", "vendor": "OpenAI", "use_case": "Mylow customer-facing home improvement advisor", "type": "Customer-facing agent", "status": "Production", "evidence_date": "2025-03-05", "date_basis": "published", "source_url": "https://corporate.lowes.com/newsroom/press-releases/lowes-launches-first-ai-powered-home-improvement-virtual-advisor-03-05-25", "evidence_quote": "Developed in collaboration with OpenAI", "notes": "", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "Lowe's launched Mylow in March 2025, an AI-powered virtual advisor developed with OpenAI that answers home improvement questions, such as how much mulch a project needs, and links answers to products. Lowe's described it as the home improvement industry's first AI-powered virtual advisor. In May 2025 it launched Mylow Companion, a version for store associates built on the same foundation.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "Lowe's launches first AI-powered home improvement virtual advisor (Lowe's)", "url": "https://corporate.lowes.com/newsroom/press-releases/lowes-launches-first-ai-powered-home-improvement-virtual-advisor-03-05-25" } ] }, { "id": "lowes-mylow-companion", "company": "Lowe's", "industry": "Retail", "vendor": "Not stated in source (built on the Mylow foundation)", "use_case": "Mylow Companion for store associates", "type": "Employee assistant", "status": "Scaled", "evidence_date": "2025-05-05", "date_basis": "published", "source_url": "https://corporate.lowes.com/newsroom/press-releases/lowes-deploys-first-scale-ai-assistant-retail-associates-05-05-25", "evidence_quote": "The launch to all associates across Lowe's more than 1,700 stores", "notes": "", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "Mylow Companion is an AI app on Lowe's associates' sales floor devices that gives quick access to product details, project advice and inventory information. Lowe's launched it to all associates across its more than 1,700 stores in May 2025, built on the same foundation as the customer-facing Mylow. Lowe's said the goal is better customer service and faster onboarding for new associates.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "Lowe's deploys first at-scale AI assistant for retail associates (Lowe's)", "url": "https://corporate.lowes.com/newsroom/press-releases/lowes-deploys-first-scale-ai-assistant-retail-associates-05-05-25" } ] }, { "id": "ibm-askhr", "company": "IBM", "industry": "Technology", "vendor": "IBM watsonx Orchestrate (in-house)", "use_case": "AskHR agent for employee HR requests", "type": "Employee assistant", "status": "Scaled", "evidence_date": "2026-10-17", "date_basis": "accessed", "source_url": "https://www.ibm.com/case-studies/ibm-askhr", "evidence_quote": "AskHR also achieved a 94% containment rate of common questions", "notes": "", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "IBM has refined its internal HR virtual agent, AskHR, over six years, and says it now automates more than 80 HR tasks and handles over 2.1 million employee conversations a year. In 2025 IBM added watsonx Orchestrate to extend its generative AI and agent capabilities. AI handles routine questions such as payslips and vacation requests, while human advisors take more complex needs. IBM reports a 94% containment rate for common questions.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "IBM HR enhances employee experience with IBM watsonx Orchestrate (IBM)", "url": "https://www.ibm.com/case-studies/ibm-askhr" } ] }, { "id": "amazon-q-java-upgrades", "company": "Amazon", "industry": "Technology", "vendor": "Amazon Q Developer (in-house)", "use_case": "Agent-assisted Java 8/11 to 17 upgrades", "type": "Coding agent", "status": "Scaled", "evidence_date": "2026-10-17", "date_basis": "accessed", "source_url": "https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/devops/amazon-q-developer-just-reached-a-260-million-dollar-milestone/", "evidence_quote": "Amazon has migrated tens of thousands of production applications from Java 8 or 11 to Java 17 with assistance from Amazon Q Developer.", "notes": "", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "Amazon used the Amazon Q Developer agent for code transformation to upgrade its own applications from Java 8 or 11 to Java 17. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said the company had migrated tens of thousands of production applications this way. AWS estimated the work saved at over 4,500 years of development time, with $260 million in annual cost savings from performance improvements.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "Amazon Q Developer just reached a $260 million dollar milestone (AWS)", "url": "https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/devops/amazon-q-developer-just-reached-a-260-million-dollar-milestone/" } ] }, { "id": "vodafone-supertobi", "company": "Vodafone", "industry": "Telecom", "vendor": "Microsoft Azure OpenAI", "use_case": "SuperTOBi customer virtual assistant", "type": "Customer-facing agent", "status": "Production", "evidence_date": "2024-07-04", "date_basis": "published", "source_url": "https://www.vodafone.com/news/newsroom/technology/meet-super-tobi-vodafone-s-new-generative-ai-virtual-assistant-now-serving-customers-in-multiple-countries", "evidence_quote": "Vodafone's new Generative AI virtual assistant now serving customers in multiple countries", "notes": "", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "SuperTOBi is Vodafone's generative AI chat assistant, built on Microsoft Azure OpenAI and the next generation of its TOBi chatbot, which already served customers in 13 countries. In July 2024 Vodafone said it was live in Italy and Portugal and starting in Germany and Turkey, with more markets to follow. In Portugal, Vodafone said first-time resolution for appointment bookings rose from 15% to 60%. It passes questions it cannot answer to a person.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "Meet SuperTOBi, Vodafone's new generative AI virtual assistant (Vodafone)", "url": "https://www.vodafone.com/news/newsroom/technology/meet-super-tobi-vodafone-s-new-generative-ai-virtual-assistant-now-serving-customers-in-multiple-countries" } ] }, { "id": "bofa-erica", "company": "Bank of America", "industry": "Banking", "vendor": "Not stated in source", "use_case": "Erica virtual financial assistant", "type": "Customer-facing agent", "status": "Scaled", "evidence_date": "2025-08-20", "date_basis": "published", "source_url": "https://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/content/newsroom/press-releases/2025/08/a-decade-of-ai-innovation--bofa-s-virtual-assistant-erica-surpas.html", "evidence_quote": "surpassing 3 billion client interactions", "notes": "", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "Bank of America launched Erica, its virtual financial assistant, in 2018. In August 2025 the bank said Erica had assisted nearly 50 million users, passed 3 billion client interactions and was averaging more than 58 million interactions a month. The bank says more than 98% of users find the information they need, which reduces call center volume.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "A decade of AI innovation: BofA's virtual assistant Erica surpasses 3 billion client interactions (Bank of America)", "url": "https://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/content/newsroom/press-releases/2025/08/a-decade-of-ai-innovation--bofa-s-virtual-assistant-erica-surpas.html" } ] }, { "id": "walmart-sparky", "company": "Walmart", "industry": "Retail", "vendor": "Not stated in source", "use_case": "Sparky customer shopping agent in the Walmart app", "type": "Customer-facing agent", "status": "Production", "evidence_date": "2025-07-24", "date_basis": "published", "source_url": "https://tech.walmart.com/content/walmart-global-tech/en_us/blog/post/all-in-on-agents.html", "evidence_quote": "Sparky, our customer shopping agent, is already live in the Walmart app", "notes": "", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "Sparky is the customer shopping agent in the Walmart app and one of four super agents Walmart is building as entry points for customers, associates and partners. In July 2025 Walmart Global Tech published a post by Suresh Kumar saying Sparky was already live and helping customers find what they need. The post said it would soon handle reordering and customer support too.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "All in on Agents (Walmart Global Tech)", "url": "https://tech.walmart.com/content/walmart-global-tech/en_us/blog/post/all-in-on-agents.html" } ] }, { "id": "wendys-freshai", "company": "Wendy's", "industry": "Restaurants", "vendor": "Not stated in source", "use_case": "FreshAi drive-thru voice ordering", "type": "Voice agent", "status": "Production", "evidence_date": "2025-05-02", "date_basis": "published", "source_url": "https://www.wendys.com/blog/wendysr-square-deal-blog/transforming-ordering-experience-wendys-freshai-update", "evidence_quote": "What began as a pilot project in just two states in 2024 has expanded nationwide.", "notes": "", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "Wendy's FreshAi is an AI drive-thru ordering assistant that grew out of a partnership with Google that began in 2021. Wendy's says it began as a pilot in two states in 2024 and has expanded nationwide, with plans to keep scaling it to company-operated and franchise restaurants through 2025. This account comes from Wendy's own blog.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "Transforming the ordering experience: Wendy's FreshAi update (Wendy's)", "url": "https://www.wendys.com/blog/wendysr-square-deal-blog/transforming-ordering-experience-wendys-freshai-update" } ] }, { "id": "allianz-project-nemo", "company": "Allianz Australia", "industry": "Insurance", "vendor": "Not stated in source", "use_case": "Project Nemo: multi-agent handling of small food spoilage claims", "type": "Operations agent", "status": "Pilot", "evidence_date": "2026-10-17", "date_basis": "accessed", "source_url": "https://www.insurancenews.com.au/insurtech/ai-trial-provides-blueprint-for-future-allianz-says", "evidence_quote": "The Australian pilot provides a blueprint for broader application", "notes": "", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "Project Nemo uses seven task-specific AI agents to process small food spoilage claims in Australia, checking coverage, confirming the weather event and screening for fraud, while a human makes the final payout decision. Allianz says it went live in July 2025 after under 100 days of work and cut claim processing and settlement time by 80%. Allianz calls the Australian deployment a pilot and a blueprint, and is exploring the approach for other simple claims. The Pilot tag may be out of date, since Allianz describes the system as launched and in use.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "AI trial provides blueprint for future, Allianz says (Insurance News)", "url": "https://www.insurancenews.com.au/insurtech/ai-trial-provides-blueprint-for-future-allianz-says" }, { "title": "Allianz launched its first agentic AI to automate claims (Allianz)", "url": "https://www.allianz.com/en/mediacenter/news/articles/251103-when-the-storm-clears-so-should-the-claim-queue.html" } ] }, { "id": "air-canada-chatbot", "company": "Air Canada", "industry": "Airlines", "vendor": "Not stated in source", "use_case": "Website customer chatbot", "type": "Customer-facing agent", "status": "Killed", "evidence_date": "2024-04", "date_basis": "published (month only)", "source_url": "https://www.cmswire.com/customer-experience/exploring-air-canadas-ai-chatbot-dilemma/", "evidence_quote": "as of April 2024, the bot is no longer available on the airline's website.", "notes": "Followed a tribunal ruling on the bot's bereavement fare advice.", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "Air Canada ran an AI chatbot on its website to answer customer questions. It told passenger Jake Moffatt he could claim a bereavement fare after flying, which was not airline policy, and in February 2024 a British Columbia tribunal ruled Air Canada liable and rejected its argument that the chatbot was a separate legal entity. As of April 2024, the bot was no longer on the airline's website. Air Canada has not said publicly why it removed the bot.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "The rise and fall of Air Canada's AI chatbot (CMSWire)", "url": "https://www.cmswire.com/customer-experience/exploring-air-canadas-ai-chatbot-dilemma/" }, { "title": "Air Canada found liable for chatbot's bad advice on plane tickets (CBC News)", "url": "https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/air-canada-chatbot-lawsuit-1.7116416" } ], "why_it_matters": "The tribunal said a company is responsible for all the information on its website, whether it comes from a static page or a chatbot." }, { "id": "who-gives-a-crap-email-agent", "company": "Who Gives A Crap", "industry": "Consumer goods", "vendor": "Not stated in source", "use_case": "AI agent writing some customer emails", "type": "Customer-facing agent", "status": "Killed", "evidence_date": "2026-07-08", "date_basis": "published", "source_url": "https://www.smartcompany.com.au/retail/who-gives-a-crap-suspends-ai-agent-email-error-prices-would-double/", "evidence_quote": "Once identified, we immediately shut down the email agent", "notes": "Suspended after an email wrongly said a price would more than double.", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "Who Gives A Crap, the Australian toilet paper company, used an AI agent to write some customer emails. In July 2026 a customer queried a price rise email that contained a typo, and the AI agent replied confirming the wrong price, which would have more than doubled the price per roll. The company said it immediately shut down the email agent, sent a correction and is working on quality assurance testing. People handle most of its customer enquiries.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "Who Gives A Crap suspends AI agent after email error said prices would double (SmartCompany)", "url": "https://www.smartcompany.com.au/retail/who-gives-a-crap-suspends-ai-agent-email-error-prices-would-double/" } ] }, { "id": "woolworths-olive", "company": "Woolworths (Australia)", "industry": "Grocery retail", "vendor": "Not stated in source", "use_case": "Olive phone and chat assistant", "type": "Voice agent", "status": "Production", "evidence_date": "2026-02-27", "date_basis": "published", "source_url": "https://www.nbcnews.com/world/australia/supermarket-giant-reins-ai-assistant-claiming-human-rcna260932", "evidence_quote": "The chatbot, known as Olive, provides a 24-hour service answering phone calls from customers of Woolworths in Australia", "notes": "Scripted personal anecdotes were removed after complaints.", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "Olive is Woolworths Australia's 24-hour assistant that answers customer phone calls, helping with everything from tracking orders to finding products. In early 2026 customers complained on social media that it claimed to be human and told stories about its family. Woolworths said those birthday responses were written by a team member years earlier, not generated by AI, and that it removed them after customer feedback. The assistant itself stayed in service.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "Supermarket giant reins in AI assistant claiming to be human (NBC News)", "url": "https://www.nbcnews.com/world/australia/supermarket-giant-reins-ai-assistant-claiming-human-rcna260932" } ] }, { "id": "octopus-energy-ai-email", "company": "Octopus Energy", "industry": "Energy", "vendor": "Not stated in source", "use_case": "AI-drafted replies to customer emails", "type": "Customer-facing agent", "status": "Production", "evidence_date": "2023-05-08", "date_basis": "published", "source_url": "https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/business/ai-now-doing-work-of-250-people-three-months-after-launch-octopus-energy-boss-reveals-4133923", "evidence_quote": "the company first started using AI to answer customer emails in February", "notes": "", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "Octopus Energy began using AI to answer customer emails in February 2023. CEO Greg Jackson wrote in The Times that by May, 34% of customer emails were answered by AI, about the work of 250 people, with 80% customer satisfaction against 65% for human staff. He said it was unlikely to lead to job losses at Octopus because the company was growing quickly.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "AI now doing work of 250 people three months after launch, Octopus Energy boss reveals (Yorkshire Post)", "url": "https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/business/ai-now-doing-work-of-250-people-three-months-after-launch-octopus-energy-boss-reveals-4133923" } ] }, { "id": "hr-block-ai-tax-assist", "company": "H&R Block", "industry": "Tax and financial services", "vendor": "Microsoft Azure OpenAI", "use_case": "AI Tax Assist for DIY online filers", "type": "Customer-facing agent", "status": "Production", "evidence_date": "2024-05-21", "date_basis": "published", "source_url": "https://www.microsoft.com/en/customers/story/1771647415089854527-hrblock-azure-ai-studio-professional-services-en-united-states", "evidence_quote": "Released in early December 2023, AI Tax Assist is available 24/7", "notes": "Vendor-published case study.", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "H&R Block built AI Tax Assist with Microsoft Azure OpenAI to answer tax questions for people filing their own returns online. It was released in early December 2023 and is available around the clock inside the online product. Microsoft's case study says it was trained on tax code and anonymized tax returns, with safeguards for accuracy. This is a vendor-published account.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "H&R Block simplifies tax preparation with a powerful AI tax assistant (Microsoft)", "url": "https://www.microsoft.com/en/customers/story/1771647415089854527-hrblock-azure-ai-studio-professional-services-en-united-states" } ] }, { "id": "paidleave-ai-moms-first", "company": "Moms First (PaidLeave.ai)", "industry": "Nonprofit", "vendor": "OpenAI API", "use_case": "Generative AI chatbot helping parents and employers navigate state paid family leave programs", "type": "Customer-facing agent", "status": "Production", "evidence_date": "2024-09-24", "date_basis": "published", "source_url": "https://momsfirst.us/after-viral-new-york-pilot-paidleave-ai-expands-nationally-to-increase-paid-family-leave-adoption/", "evidence_quote": "Moms First is expanding Paidleave.ai nationally to include all nine states plus Washington DC with live paid family leave programs", "notes": "Started as a New York pilot in December 2023, per the same source.", "checked_on": "2026-10-17", "what_happened": "PaidLeave.ai is a generative AI chatbot from the nonprofit Moms First that helps parents and employers understand and apply for state paid family leave. It launched as a New York pilot in December 2023 with support from OpenAI and others. In September 2024 Moms First expanded it to all nine states plus Washington DC with live paid family leave programs. Moms First says fewer than five percent of eligible workers claim these benefits, largely because of low awareness and complicated applications.", "what_happened_sources": [ { "title": "After viral New York pilot, Paidleave.ai expands nationally (Moms First)", "url": "https://momsfirst.us/after-viral-new-york-pilot-paidleave-ai-expands-nationally-to-increase-paid-family-leave-adoption/" } ] } ]