Co-op Legal Services: New partnerships
Co-op Legal Services (CLS) has rejected the claim that its use of AI to monitor calls between staff and clients is “oppressive and dystopian”.
The alternative business structure, owned by the grocery and funerals giant, said the technology allowed it to deliver consistently high standards of service and better support staff.
The Guardian last week cited a “whistleblower” who reported CLS’s use of AI to record, analyse and award a percentage score for interactions between call-handlers and customers seeking advice about probate, wills and estates.
It said the system from OpenAI, described by the whistleblower as “oppressive and dystopian”, has been trained to assess more than 50 discrete aspects of each phone call and provide pass and fail scores to managers who use the data to analyse employee performance.
The newspaper quoted one anonymous member of staff, who said the AI created a sense of distrust.
“It’s different from occasionally being listened to for compliance purposes. [You are] being monitored absolutely every word that you say and every time that you utter something… It just feels really dystopian. It’s the thin end of the wedge.”
CLS has not received any formal complaints or grievances about the new system, nor was it referenced negatively in a recent staff survey, and it is confident that it complies with Solicitors Regulation Authority requirements.
A CLS spokesman said: “The efficiency of AI over traditional methods allows us to review all customer conversations, to ensure we consistently deliver high standards of service, while enabling more informed support, coaching and development for colleagues.
“We see this as a way of better understanding client experiences and ensuring empathy remains at the heart of the support we provide.
“It helps us recognise what’s working well and where we can provide colleagues with further development opportunities, while also ensuring we continue to meet our Solicitors Regulation Authority obligations.
“Put simply, our goal is to provide expert support combined with empathy and understanding for every client at what can be a difficult time. AI helps us deliver that more consistently, while human judgement, accountability, care and kindness remain at the heart of every client relationship.”
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