Published : 08 Oct 2026, 09:35 PM
Updated : 08 Oct 2026, 09:35 PM
Co-op Legal Services is using artificial intelligence to record, analyse and score every phone call its staff make with customers -- and workers are calling it "oppressive and dystopian".
The system, built on an OpenAI model, assesses over 50 aspects of each call and assigns a pass or fail score to managers, who use the data to evaluate employee performance, reports The Guardian.
Staff handling inquiries from recently bereaved clients about probate, wills and estates say their work can be monitored by AI for several hours a day.
"You are being watched," one worker told the Guardian anonymously. "It's different from occasionally being listened to for compliance purposes. You are being monitored absolutely every word that you say … It just feels really dystopian."
The Co-op said it did not recognise the criticism, describing the AI as a "key aspect of our quality assurance processes" that helps ensure clients receive "empathetic expert guidance."
The company said the tool is not a decision-maker and is used solely to support staff.
The monitoring system, introduced in the past two months across dozens of legal services staff, is also used in part to boost sales performance, according to The Guardian.
The development is part of a broader trend of AI surveillance in the workplace.
Burger King in the US announced earlier this year it would use AI to track customer interactions, while Meta paused monitoring of employee keystrokes this summer following a staff backlash over privacy concerns.
Last week, teachers at Euan Blair's AI training company Multiverse described blanket AI monitoring of online classroom sessions as "remorseless" and "unnerving."
Trade unions are pushing back. "Unaccountable computer systems should not be people's managers," said John Chadfield of the Communication Workers Union.
