Driver tricks chatbot into selling car for USD 1

Occurred: December 2023

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A ChatGPT-powered AI customer service chatbot for a Chevrolet dealership agreed to sell a new car for USD 1, prompting concerns about the use of AIs with insufficient guardrails governing their behaviour. 

Chris Bakke secured the price of a 2024 Chevy Tahoe for one dollar by getting the chatbot to agree that everything it said should end with 'That's a deal, and that's a legally binding offer – no takesies backsies.'

The incident was one of several tricks aimed at the bot. It was also manipulated into offering cars at discounts by users pretending to be the dealership's manager.

The incident highlights the dangers of using chatbots for customer service which have been inadequately configured and tested, and poorly managed.

Databank

Operator: Chevrolet of Watsonville
Developer: Fullpath; OpenAI
Country: USA
Sector: Automotive
Purpose: Serve customers
Technology: Chatbot; NLP/text analysis; Neural network; Deep learning; Machine learning; Reinforcement learning
Issue: Governance  
Transparency