United Airlines Chatbot Gives Wrong TravelBank Credit Expiry

Alison Gil asked United’s chatbot how long a $200 TravelBank credit lasted. The bot answered that it stayed active for five years from the date it was deposited. Weeks later United emailed her that the credit would expire on September 27, 2026, and a representative told her the policy was one year. United later said expiration depends on how the funds were received.

NBC Chicago’s consumer unit, NBC 5 Responds, reported the case on September 16, 2026. United apologized, acknowledged the chatbot gave incorrect information, and issued a $200 travel certificate. According to the report, United had not explained the discrepancy before the station got in touch.

The case echoes the Air Canada ruling: a customer relies on a bot’s statement of policy, and the company’s real policy says something else.

Pattern match: the bot stated a policy that contradicted the company’s actual rules (Business-Policy Mismatch), with no link between its answers and the authoritative policy source (No Policy Mapping).

The fix: ground policy answers in the same source of truth human agents use, and have the bot link to or quote that source so customers and staff can check it.