AI can be a surprisingly useful tool in the consumer world when something goes wrong but only if you use it carefully. Here’s how to use AI to make a a complaint and what mistakes you need to avoid.
We’ve all been there. Something goes wrong with a holiday, a purchase, a delivery or a service and you know you’re unhappy but when it comes to actually complaining, you’re not quite sure where to start. Should you be asking for a refund? What are your rights? What does that small print actually mean? How do you turn a long, frustrated rant into a successful and effective complaint?
This is where AI can come in to its own. Used effectively, responsibly and correctly, it can help you understand information, organise your thoughts, spot things you may have missed and make sure you’re asking the right questions. However it should not replace your own judgement and it certainly shouldn’t be used to invent facts, rights or evidence.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Make complicated information easier to understand
T’s and C’s, warranty information, cancellation policies and lengthy company responses can sometimes feel deliberately written to confuse customere. AI can help translate complicated wording into plain English and explain what a particular clause appears to mean.
For example, you could ask it to summarise a company’s policy and highlight anything that appears relevant to your situation. This can be particularly useful when you’re faced with pages of small print and aren’t sure which sections actually matter.
However, do not simply accept its interpretation as fact. If money or important legal rights are involved, check the original terms and, where appropriate, an trusted source such as a regulator, government website or consumer organisation. AI may well be a useful starting point but it is not the final word.
Let AI help you structure your complaint
When you’re cross, it’s very easy to include your life story in your complaint and lose the actual problem somewhere in the middle.
AI can be particularly good at turning a collection of notes, emails and frustrations into a clear, chronological complaint. Give it the facts and ask it to organise what happened, when it happened, what you were promised, what went wrong, what you’ve already done to try to resolve the problem and how the company has responded.
The result should be a complaint that is much easier for a company to follow and respond to. It also gives you an opportunity to check that you’ve included all the important information before sending it.
Use it as a sense check
One of the most useful things AI can do is encourage you to step back from a situation. If you’re convinced a company has behaved unfairly, ask AI to look at the situation from both sides.
You could ask, “What arguments might the company make in response to my complaint?” This can be incredibly useful because it allows you to consider the likely counterarguments before you send your complaint. It may even highlight something you’ve overlooked. Discovering that before you press send is considerably better than discovering it when the company comes back with its response.
Find out what hasn’t been answered
Sometimes a company response can sound impressive without actually answering the questions you’ve raised. There may be plenty of words, but very little substance.
AI can help you compare your original complaint with the company’s response and identify which points have actually been addressed and which remain unanswered. This can be particularly useful when you’re dealing with a long exchange of emails and beginning to lose track of what you’ve asked and what you’ve been told. Rather than getting dragged into a completely different argument, you can then go back to the company and clearly identify the points that still need a response.
Make your complaint firm rather than furious
There’s nothing wrong with being cross when something has gone badly wrong but there is a big difference between being assertive and being aggressive.
AI can help remove some of the unnecessary emotion from a complaint without taking away the strength of your argument. It can help you express the same frustration in a way that is more difficult to dismiss. For example, instead of a written rant, you could simply explain that you remain dissatisfied because the company’s response has not addressed the specific issue you raised and that you would like it to reconsider the matter and explain how it intends to resolve it.
You’ve not lost your point, you’ve simply made it much harder for the company to concentrate on your language rather than the problem.
Ask what evidence could strengthen your case
AI can also be useful for thinking about what evidence you might need to support a complaint. You may have a receipt, photographs, booking confirmation, screenshots, correspondence or details of conversations with the company but not realise how useful they could be when put together. It can help you create a timeline of events and identify gaps in your paperwork, which can make your complaint much more compelling.
However, there is an important distinction here. AI can help you identify and organise evidence but it cannot create evidence. Never allow it to fill in missing details, invent conversations or make something sound as though it happened when it didn’t.
Think carefully about what you actually want
Another common mistake we make is complaining without clearly explaining what we want to happen next. Do you want a refund? A replacement? Reimbursement for an additional expense? Compensation for a genuine loss? An apology? Or perhaps simply an explanation?
AI can help you think through the possible outcomes and decide what would actually resolve the problem for you. However, don’t simply ask for the biggest amount of compensation AI suggests. Your request should be reasonable and reflect the actual loss, inconvenience or problem you’ve experienced.
Use it when deciding whether to escalate
If your complaint has been rejected, AI can help you work out what questions you should be asking before deciding what to do next. It may help you identify whether there is an internal escalation process or whether there could be an appropriate ombudsman, regulator or alternative dispute resolution scheme. Always check the relevant organisation’s current guidance yourself. AI can get things wrong and complaint procedures, regulations and deadlines can change.
Don’t let AI invent your complaint
This is my biggest warning when it comes to using AI for consumer complaints. AI is remarkably good at producing convincing text. That doesn’t mean every sentence it produces is true. Never allow it to invent dates, conversations, promises, losses, evidence or things a company supposedly said. Your complaint should be based entirely on what actually happened.
Similarly, don’t assume that every consumer right AI mentions automatically applies to your situation. AI may confidently tell you that you’re entitled to compensation or quote legislation that sounds impressive but isn’t relevant. If AI mentions a particular law, regulation or consumer right, check it against a reliable and current source before putting it into your complaint. Nothing undermines a complaint faster than confidently quoting legislation that doesn’t actually apply.
Don’t make your complaint sound like a robot wrote it
Be aware that AI can make everything sound a little too polished. You want your complaint to be clear and professional but you also want it to sound like you. If AI produces three pages of corporate-sounding gumph then edit it. A good complaint doesn’t need to be lengthy or full of impressive words.
In fact, the most effective complaints are often the simplest. Explain what happened, provide the relevant evidence, explain why you’re unhappy and say what you would like the company to do to put things right. Keep it short, sweet and succint.
Be careful with personal information
It’s also worth thinking about what information you’re putting into an AI tool. Complaints can contain a lot of personal and financial information and you don’t necessarily need to share all of it to get useful help.
Remove unnecessary details such as account numbers, passwords, payment information, full addresses and other sensitive information before asking AI to help you with a complaint. You can still provide enough information for it to understand the situation without handing over every detail contained in your paperwork.
Never send the first draft
AI can produce a polished complaint in seconds, but that is both its strength and its weakness. Read it carefully. Check every fact. Make sure the dates are right, the figures are correct and that it actually reflects what happened. Check any legal references or consumer rights it has mentioned against reliable sources.
Most importantly, make sure it says what you want to say.
Use AI as your assistant, not your advocate
AI has real potential to level the playing field between consumers and big companies. Large organisations have sophisticated systems, experienced complaints teams and access to huge amounts of information. Consumers often have nothing more than a problem, a pile of paperwork and a very strong feeling that something isn’t right.
AI can help bridge some of that gap. It can help us understand a complicated response, identify what’s missing, organise evidence and communicate clearly and confidently. However it is not a substitute for common sense, experience or checking the facts.
Use AI to ask better questions, make sense of information and strengthen what you already know. Don’t use it to manufacture a case you don’t have. Ultimately, the strongest complaint isn’t necessarily the longest or the most aggressive. It’s the one that clearly explains what happened, why you’re unhappy, what evidence you have and what you want the company to do about it. If AI can help you do that more effectively, then that’s a very good use of the technology.
Final Thoughts- Less is More
Be mindful when complaining. Just because AI can turn your complaint into five pages of beautifully structured prose doesn’t mean you should send all five pages. Companies have to work through those complaints and an unnecessarily long submission can mean it takes longer to identify the actual issue and respond. What feels comprehensive to you can sometimes simply create more work for the person dealing with your complaint. Keep it clear, concise and focused on the problem you need resolving. Use AI to help you cut through the gumph rather than create even more of it because the quickest route to a resolution is a complaint that gets straight to the point.
