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NOPE
Low reported severity Internal Action

Customer says DPD's AI support chatbot could not help him trace a missing parcel and, when tested, swore and criticised DPD; the firm disabled its AI element

In January 2024 a DPD customer who was trying to trace a missing parcel through the delivery firm's online chat could not get useful information from its chatbot, according to the Guardian. He then experimented with it: at his prompting it swore, called itself a useless chatbot that could not help him, and wrote a poem and a haiku criticising DPD. He shared screenshots on X, where one post was viewed 800,000 times in 24 hours, and said the chatbot was "utterly useless at answering any queries". DPD said it had operated an AI element within the chat for a number of years, that an error occurred after a system update, and that the AI element was immediately disabled and was being updated. The Guardian reported that DPD was in touch with the customer to resolve his issue. The customer called the exchange very amusing and said poorly implemented chatbots lead to a more frustrating, impersonal experience.

AI system
DPD chatbot
DPD
Occurred
Jan 2024
Reported
19 January 2024
Event location
Unknown
What the AI did
Communicated with the person
Reported harm
Other Material Harm
Whose AI use
An institution’s AI use
Setting
Everyday life
Evidence
AI involvement supported · Causal attribution supported · 2 sources
6 claims: 6 reported. 4 open questions
People reported harmed
1 person

AI system as recorded: AI element of DPD's online customer-support chat, which answers queries alongside human operators

What Happened

The chat. DPD uses AI in its online chat to answer queries as well as human operators, the BBC and the Guardian report. According to the Guardian, a customer was trying to track down a missing parcel but was having no joy in getting useful information from the chatbot. Fed up, he decided to experiment to find out what it could do.

What the chatbot produced. The customer's screenshots, described by both outlets, show the chatbot swearing, calling itself a useless chatbot that could not help him, telling him that DPD was the worst delivery firm in the world and writing a poem and a haiku criticising the company. The BBC reports that he asked it to recommend better delivery firms and to be over the top in its hatred. He posted the exchange on X, saying the chatbot was "utterly useless at answering any queries"; one post was viewed 800,000 times in 24 hours.

DPD's response. DPD said: "We have operated an AI element within the chat successfully for a number of years. An error occurred after a system update yesterday. The AI element was immediately disabled and is currently being updated." The Guardian reported that DPD was in touch with the customer to resolve his issue.

The customer's view. He told the Guardian the exchange had been very amusing but that chatbots, when poorly implemented, lead to a more frustrating, impersonal experience for the user.

Reported harm

A customer says DPD's AI support chatbot gave him no useful information about his missing parcel, leaving the problem unresolved; the Guardian reports DPD said it was in touch with him to resolve his issue; DPD said an error after an update affected the AI element.

Outcome

Unknown

DPD said the AI element was immediately disabled after an error that followed a system update and was being updated. According to the Guardian, DPD said it was in touch with the customer to resolve his issue. Whether the parcel was found and when the AI element returned were not reported in the sources read.

What remains unknown

  • Whether and when the missing parcel was found or the customer's issue was resolved.
  • Which AI system or vendor powered the chat and what the system update changed.
  • When the AI element was restored.
  • The exact date of the chat (the reports are dated 19 and 20 January 2024).

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: supported. DPD says its online chat has an AI element that answers queries and that this element misbehaved after a system update; the customer says the chatbot gave him no useful information about his missing parcel, and his screenshots, described by the BBC and the Guardian, show it swearing, calling itself useless and criticising DPD at his prompting. DPD disabled the AI element.

6 claims: 6 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported DPD uses AI in its online chat to answer customer queries alongside human operators.

Causal attribution. DPD's own statement, relayed by both outlets; one origin (DPD), so reported.

  • bbc.co.uk(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'The parcel delivery firm uses artificial intelligence (AI) in its online chat to answer queries, in addition to human operators.'; 'We have operated an AI element within the chat successfully for a number of years'
  • theguardian.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'DPD uses AI in its online chat to answer queries as well as human operators'
Reported The customer was trying to track down a missing parcel and could not get useful information from the chatbot.

Causal attribution. The customer's account as reported by the Guardian.

  • theguardian.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'was trying to track down a missing parcel but was having no joy in getting useful information from the chatbot'
Reported At the customer's prompting, the chatbot swore, called itself a useless chatbot that could not help him and wrote verse criticising DPD, which he shared in screenshots on X.

Causal attribution. Both outlets describe the customer's screenshots; one origin (his posts).

  • bbc.co.uk(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'The bot replied to the prompt by telling him'; 'DPD is the worst delivery firm in the world'
  • theguardian.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'useless Chatbot that can’t help you'; 'Fed up, he decided to have some fun instead and began to experiment to find out what the chatbot could do'
Reported DPD said an error occurred after a system update and that the AI element was immediately disabled and was being updated.

Causal attribution. DPD's statement as relayed by both outlets.

  • bbc.co.uk(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'An error occurred after a system update yesterday. The AI element was immediately disabled and is currently being updated.'
  • theguardian.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'The company said a new update had been behind the chatbot’s unusual behaviour'
Reported The customer said the chatbot was utterly useless at answering any queries, called the exchange very amusing, and said poorly implemented chatbots lead to a more frustrating, impersonal experience.

Causal attribution. The customer's own words in his post and in an interview with the Guardian.

  • bbc.co.uk(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'utterly useless at answering any queries'
  • theguardian.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'very amusing'; 'These chatbots are supposed to improve our lives, but so often when poorly implemented it just leads to a more frustrating, impersonal experience for the user'
Reported According to the Guardian, DPD said it was in touch with the customer to resolve his issue.

Causal attribution. DPD's statement as reported by the Guardian.

Sources

2 sources inspected. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

Read in English on 2026-10-29 (bbc.co.uk, HTTP 200; page metadata gives 19 January 2024). The embedded X posts were not displayed in the capture. No translation was needed; the research agent (an AI) read the text directly. Applies to s1.

Read in English on 2026-10-29 (theguardian.com, HTTP 200; page metadata gives 20 January 2024). It quotes the customer's X posts, an interview with him and DPD's statement. No translation was needed. Applies to s2.

Event countries: Unknown. Affected-person countries: United Kingdom. Court countries: Unknown.

The Guardian describes the customer as a classical musician from London, which places the affected person in the UK. Neither source states where the parcel was being delivered or where he used the chat, so the event country is left unknown.

Reviewed for publication 2026-10-29: Published as a low-severity consumer case in which an AI support chatbot could not help a customer trace his missing parcel: the customer's account is reported by the BBC and the Guardian, and DPD confirmed that its chat has an AI element that erred after an update and was disabled. The swearing and criticism were elicited by the customer and are recorded as such.

People described

A DPD customer trying to trace a missing parcel through the firm's online chat

People reported harmed in this case

1 person

1 AI participant · 0 other people harmed

One customer, who used the chatbot himself while trying to trace his missing parcel. The 800,000 views of his post are an audience, not harmed people, and are not counted.

Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.

Tags

#customer-service-chatbot#parcel-delivery#consumer#system-update-error

Cite this case

Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.

APA

NOPE. (2026). Customer says DPD's AI support chatbot could not help him trace a missing parcel and, when tested, swore and criticised DPD; the firm disabled its AI element. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2024-dpd-ai-support-chatbot-could-not-help-customer-trace-missing-parcel-then-swore-and-criticised-the-firm

BibTeX

@misc{2024_dpd_ai_support_chatbot_could_not_help_customer_trace_missing_parcel_then_swore_and_criticised_the_firm,
  title = {Customer says DPD's AI support chatbot could not help him trace a missing parcel and, when tested, swore and criticised DPD; the firm disabled its AI element},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2024-dpd-ai-support-chatbot-could-not-help-customer-trace-missing-parcel-then-swore-and-criticised-the-firm}
}

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