Co-op Legal Services Uses AI to Score Employee Calls

Co-op Legal Services has deployed AI-driven surveillance technology to record, analyze, and score every phone call between staff and customers seeking advice on probate, wills, and estates. Utilizing a model from OpenAI, the system evaluates more than 50 discrete aspects of each interaction to generate pass and fail scores for manager review.

Managing Director Caoilionn Hurley defended the system as a tool for quality assurance and coaching, stating that AI helps the company deliver service more consistently while maintaining human judgment and kindness at the heart of client relationships. The company further maintains that the technology is a support tool rather than a decision-maker and helps identify ways to improve sales performance.

However, the implementation has faced backlash from employees and the Communication Workers Union. A whistleblower described the monitoring as "oppressive and dystopian," while staff report increased stress and a sense of distrust. Union national officer John Chadfield argued that the system intensifies working lives and asserted that unaccountable computer systems should not act as managers.