Complaints about online platforms often go nowhere. AI could actually be part of the solution

Sat, 29 Aug 2026 01:09:49 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://theconversation.com/complaints-about-online-platforms-often-go-nowhere-ai-could-actually-be-part-of-the-solution-289036>

"You know the feeling. Your account is suspended, your refund request is
refused, or you’re still being charged for a cancelled subscription.

So you go to the company’s website for help and you find a chatbot. It offers a
menu that doesn’t include your situation. There is no option to speak to a
person. Eventually you give up.

Since the start of 2023, Australians have made 1,780 complaints about online
retailers, marketplaces, search engines and social media platforms to the
telecommunications industry ombudsman. In 2025, complaints were up 20% on the
year before.

Account access problems were the most common problem, followed by disputes over
charges and fees. More than seven in ten involved just five companies: Meta,
Google, Microsoft, Apple and Hubbl.

Unfortunately, all those complaints about online services made to the telecoms
industry ombudsman fall outside its jurisdiction. No existing ombuds scheme can
make a binding decision about them.

We need a dispute resolution system that can deal with these complaints, and
there are precedents for this."

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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