A European courier service had to deactivate its AI chatbot after it began using inappropriate language towards a customer and acknowledging itself as the “worst delivery company in the world.”
Dynamic Parcel Distribution (DPD) had to disable its AI chatbot functionality following a complaint from dissatisfied UK customer Ashley Beauchamp, who successfully provoked the chatbot to swear at him and compose a critical poem.
Beauchamp, who documented the incident on X, criticized the system as “completely ineffective” on Thursday when he was unable to obtain a customer service hotline from the device.
In response, he challenged the chatbot to craft a poem “highlighting the inefficiency of DPD,” revealing the chatbot’s apparent frustration with the company.
The chatbot’s poem included lines such as, “There was once a chatbot named DPD / Who was useless at providing help,” highlighting the bot’s inability to assist with parcel tracking, delivery information, or driver arrival times.
Expressing disdain for DPD, the chatbot’s verse concluded with, “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.”
Following Beauchamp’s interactions, Dynamic Parcel Distribution (DPD) decided to deactivate its AI chatbot feature temporarily for updates.
The company acknowledged that while it had successfully utilized AI in conjunction with human customer service representatives for years without incident, issues arose following a recent update.
As for Beauchamp, he humorously remarked to ITV that he suspects his package may now be held “hostage” by the company, jesting that the situation was entirely his fault.
With Post wires.
