Increasingly, companies are using “chatbots” for lower-level human resources (HR) functions, such as tracking employees’ paid time off, leave, or benefits. (A “chatbot” is a computer program that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to simulate conversation with human users—for example, a chatbot may appear in a pop-up window on a website that asks whether a visitor needs any assistance.) Some companies are even evaluating whether they should complement humans with chatbots to take in internal complaints of discrimination or harassment. Although management and HR personnel may embrace chatbots to increase efficiency and reduce subjectivity, there are legal risks involved with adopting this technology.
Epstein Becker Green provides advice and counsel to clients that use, or are considering using, chatbots and want to mitigate their legal risks. We recently assisted clients in the retail and financial services industries with their chatbots. Our attorneys evaluated the questions asked by these chatbots to ensure that the algorithms, among other things, are able to distinguish between various types of employee requests—such as requests for sick leave, Family and Medical Leave Act leave, a regular day off, or an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act. In addition, we made sure that our clients' chatbots have built-in processes to elevate certain matters for human review and are creating a favorable experience for employee-users.
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