Web Chatbots should Just be Assistive Technologies

It's been more than two months since the IndiGo's Airlines fiasco in India. During the crisis, in one of the statements, IndiGo asked customers to use its website AI chatbot by saying this in the statement:

Our AI assistant 6Eskai can help with flight status, refunds, and rebookings

What does 6Eskai do? Only a subset of actions already present in the website. This time, they have added an LLM there so you have some natural language soup around the same old, give-me-your-PNR-I-will-click-a-button-for-you style bots. Additionally if you, say, end up getting wrong baggage info from the bot because you didn't double check the baggage page after the bot told you some nonsense, 'IndiGo will not be held responsible!' More specifically:

6Eskai (powered by GPT-4) is experimental and may provide inaccurate or misleading responses. User discretion is advised.IndiGo cannot be held responsible for any consequences arising from the information provided by this bot.

Suppose you tried booking a flight and vagueness in natural language led to a mistake, causing you to book the wrong day? IndiGo will not be responsible. I actually tried booking a BLR to DEL flight and then it continued confidently with HDO (35km from DEL) assuming that everyone considers the entire NCR the same. Again IndiGo can't be held responsible, even for this case where it's a matter of poor design more than model accuracy.

Leaving all of the above aside, the chatbot is basically a separate projection of the website with a lot of buttons that are just clubbed together in a tight space.

Figure 2: The chatbot is basically a speed dial. Screenshot from <2026-02-17 Tue>

Oh and talking about inclusion of LLMs. So this new natural language AI capability should make some things easier for me, right? Like it can compute the extra luggage price using the table in the baggage section since I am not very good at mathematics? No. It just asks you to go to that page. When asked, it hallucinated some 32 kg per bag maximum limit when the page had no mention of 32 anywhere. The closest was 30 kg¹.

Alright, now what about the data that's shared from all the conversation that it had with me? It does seem to send all the text to OpenAI (if they are still using GPT4 as the text below the bot shows). They should have some information around whether they are doing PII redaction or whether they have some other mechanism. If nothing, there should be a consent disclaimer before I start using the bot. Of course there isn't anything.

The chatbot itself kept hallucinating and giving inconsistent diplomatic answers. And sadly the customer care does the same. The privacy policy for the chatbot isn't accessible from the main page or any page. You need to have a link for it which I got via customer support. Also when I said customer care behaves the same as chatbot, they literally might just be winging it using ChatGPT to generate context-less responses to close tickets from their side. See the following email conversation² that I attempted but gave up on:

Emails with IndiGo (click to see)

IndiGo Customer Experience 	Tue, Nov 4, 2025 at 10:36 PM
To: "REDACTED" 

Dear Sir/Ma'am,  
Greetings from IndiGo!  

With reference to your mail, we would like to inform that we are
working on your mail and will reply you with an update at the earliest.  

Thus, we would request you to kindly bear with us in the interim.  
If you need any further assistance, please feel free to contact
our 24*7 call center at 01246173838 or visit our website www.goIndiGo.in.  

Thank you for choosing IndiGo
Regards,  
Mohd Kaif
Customer Experience Expert
www.goIndiGo.in

IndiGo Customer Experience 	Wed, Nov 5, 2025 at 1:19 AM
To: "REDACTED"  

Dear Sir/Ma'am,

Greetings from IndiGo!

Thank you for contacting us and sharing your concerns regarding the
chatbot experience on our website.

We would like to address your queries as follows:

1. Data Sharing and Consent:

As per IndiGo’s Privacy Policy, any personal information collected through
our platforms—including the website, mobile applications, and chatbot—is
processed in accordance with applicable data protection laws such as the
Indian IT Act and GDPR. The data collected is limited to what is necessary
for the services you engage with, and IndiGo acts as the Data Controller. 

While the chatbot is powered by AI technology, including integrations with
third-party providers, IndiGo ensures that personal data is handled securely
and is not used for unauthorized purposes. Continued use of the chatbot is
considered implied consent under standard digital interaction protocols. You
may review and manage your data preferences through our privacy settings or
by contacting our support team.

2. Liability for Chatbot Responses and Booking Errors:

As outlined in IndiGo’s Terms for Chat, use of the chatbot constitutes a
legally binding agreement. While the chatbot is designed to assist with
bookings and queries, IndiGo does not guarantee the accuracy of all responses
and expressly disclaims liability for any direct or indirect damages arising
from reliance on chatbot content. 

In the event of a booking error resulting from incorrect information provided
by the chatbot, we encourage you to report the issue immediately. IndiGo will
review such cases individually and may offer corrective support depending on the
nature of the error and supporting documentation.

We appreciate your feedback and remain committed to enhancing our digital
services while ensuring transparency and compliance with applicable laws.

For more details, please feel free to contact at 0124-6173838 or mail
us at customer.experience@goindigo.in.

Thank you for choosing IndiGo.

Regards,
Chandramani Kumar Chandravnsi
Customer Experience Expert
www.goindigo.in

Abhinav Tushar @ gmail 	Wed, Nov 5, 2025 at 8:18 AM
To: IndiGo Customer Experience 

Thanks for your quick response, I must say I really appreciate the willingness
to engage in this conversation from your side. I have a few follow up questions:

    1. The 'terms for chat' is a link that I can't access either from the homepage
    or from the information page. Neither is this visible when I first click on
    the chatbot button. This seems like a dark practice since anyone clicking on
    the bot button should first know what they are getting into. It's also not
    mentioned anywhere in the skai page. Can you please fix this?

    2. If Indigo is not holding the accountability for the mistakes from the chatbot,
    then what's the purpose of the (website) bot? At the present state, it seems
    to be good enough as a search box, leading to various FAQ pages with reasonable
    accuracy. Shouldn't this be replaced with a good search bar on the homepage.
    In any case, why is there no search bar? Many of my questions to be bot were
    just unresolved and I was given a link to some document. I would rather go
    there directly via a 'search bar' instead of relying on a system that's declaring
    itself as unreliable.

    3. I don't think any 'standard digital interaction protocols' imply implied consent.
    Say I write my name and email etc. while conversing with your chatbot. From what
    I can clearly see, that is parsed using OpenAI (a third party) by sending that PII
    data to them. This is something I did not consent for and according to all data
    protection laws, I need to give more proper consent before this can happen without
    me knowing.

    4. 'IndiGo ensures that personal data is handled securely and is not used for
    unauthorized purposes'. I would like to understand what PII redaction method,
    if any, are used for my responses in chatbot.


Additionally, I need information about:

    1. Who all are the Data Processor for the chatbot? You mentioned Indigo, and I
    can see OpenAI involved too. But what other entities are involved?
    2. What categories of data are sent to the AI vendor?
    3. What's the retention period for chat logs on all vendors?
    4. What's the status of user data usage for profiling and model training?


Please note that I am talking about interactions with chatbot which might or might
not use my ID tied to my Indigo account. Even without logging in, I could provide PII
in chat conversations and I would like to understand answers to above questions in
that context too. 

Thanks!

[Quoted text hidden]
IndiGo Customer Experience 	Wed, Nov 5, 2025 at 8:52 AM
To: "REDACTED" 

Dear Sir/Ma'am, 

Greetings from IndiGo! 

With reference to your mail, we would like to inform that we are working on your mail
and will reply you with an update at the earliest. 

Thus, we would request you to kindly bear with us in the interim. 

If you need any further assistance, please feel free to contact our 24*7 call centre
at 01246173838 or visit our website www.goIndiGo.in.
 

Thank you for choosing IndiGo 
 
Regards,  

Neha

Customer Experience Expert  

www.goindiGo.in 

Abhinav Tushar 	Fri, Nov 7, 2025 at 7:01 AM
To: IndiGo Customer Experience 
Hi, any update on this?
[Quoted text hidden]

IndiGo Customer Experience 	Fri, Nov 7, 2025 at 9:34 AM
To: "REDACTED" 
Dear Sir/Ma'am,
Greetings from IndiGo!
With reference to your mail, we would like to inform that we are working on your
mail and will reply you with an update at the earliest.

Thus, we would request you to kindly bear with us in the interim.

If you need any further assistance, please feel free to contact our 24*7 call center
at 01246173838 or visit our website www.goIndiGo.in.

Thank you for choosing IndiGo.
 
Best regards, 
Antim Baliyan 
Customer Experience Expert 
www.goIndiGo.in 

Abhinav Tushar 	Mon, Nov 10, 2025 at 12:55 PM
To: IndiGo Customer Experience 
Following up on this again. Can I get a reply?
[Quoted text hidden]

IndiGo Customer Experience 	Mon, Nov 10, 2025 at 3:03 PM
To: "REDACTED" 
 
Dear Sir/Ma'am,
 
Greetings from IndiGo!
 
With reference to your mail, we would like to inform that we are working on your
mail and will reply to you with an update at the earliest.
 
Thus, we would request you to kindly bear with us in the interim.
 
If you need any further assistance or clarification, please feel free to contact us.
Customer Care Number: 0124-6173838 / 0124-4973838 or email us customer.experience@goindigo.in 
 
Thank you for choosing IndiGo.
 
Regards,
Swati
[Quoted text hidden]

IndiGo Customer Experience 	Mon, Nov 10, 2025 at 7:48 PM
To: "REDACTED" 
Dear Sir/Ma'am,
 
Greetings from IndiGo!
 
With reference to your mail, we would like to inform you that we have forwarded your
concern to the relevant department.
 

Should you need further assistance or wish to explore alternate travel options, feel free
to contact our 24x7 customer care at 0124-6173838 / 0124-4973838.

Thank you for choosing IndiGo.

Warm regards,
Rameshwar Yadav
Customer Experience Expert
www.goIndiGo.in

Abhinav Tushar 	Thu, Nov 13, 2025 at 5:49 AM
To: IndiGo Customer Experience 
Do I need to lodge a complain with civil aviation to get a response here?
[Quoted text hidden]

IndiGo Customer Experience 	Thu, Nov 13, 2025 at 8:55 AM
To: "REDACTED" 
 
Dear Mr Tushar,

Thank you for reaching out to IndiGo.

We appreciate your feedback and the time you have taken to share your queries
regarding the chatbot on our website.

To address your concerns:

1. **Data Sharing with OpenAI**: The chatbot operates on advanced AI technology,
and we understand your concern regarding data privacy. Please be assured that your
data is handled with the utmost confidentiality and in accordance with applicable
data protection regulations. The chatbot is designed to enhance your experience,
and we are continuously working to ensure transparency in its usage. Your feedback
about explicit consent is noted, and we will evaluate ways to make this process more
clear and user-friendly.

2. **Disclaimer Regarding Responses**: The disclaimer is in place to ensure customers
are aware that the chatbot is a digital tool designed to assist with queries. While
every effort is made to provide accurate information, there may be instances where
human intervention is required for complex requests. For bookings or critical actions,
we encourage you to review the details carefully before confirming. Should you encounter
any discrepancies or require further support, our customer service team is always
available to assist.

We value your input and will use it to improve our services. If you have additional
questions or require further clarification, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Thank you for choosing IndiGo.

Regards, 
Manisha Gopal, 
Customer Experience Expert 
www.goIndiGo.in

Abhinav Tushar 	Thu, Nov 13, 2025 at 9:21 AM
To: IndiGo Customer Experience 
Hi Manisha,

I don't think my questions are answered at all. Can you please go through my follow up
questions properly and give a point by point response? The current reply is very generic
and isn't actually providing any information other than what I already know.
[Quoted text hidden]

IndiGo Customer Experience 	Thu, Nov 13, 2025 at 11:29 AM
To: "REDACTED" 

Dear Sir/Ma'am, 

Greetings from IndiGo! 

With reference to your mail, we would like to inform that we are working on your mail
and will reply you with an update at the earliest. 

Thus, we would request you to kindly bear with us in the interim. 

If you need any further assistance, please feel free to contact our 24*7 call centre
at 01246173838 or visit our website www.goIndiGo.in. 

Thank you for choosing IndiGo 
 
Regards,  

Neha

Customer Experience Expert  

www.goindiGo.in 

IndiGo Customer Experience 	Fri, Nov 14, 2025 at 6:49 AM
To: "REDACTED" 

Dear Mr Tushar,

Greetings from IndiGo!

Thank you for sharing your concerns with us. We truly appreciate your feedback and the
opportunity to clarify. Please find our point-by-point response below:

    Data Sharing and Consent
    The chatbot on our website is designed to assist customers with queries in a secure
    manner. IndiGo does not share your personal data with OpenAI or any third-party
    without consent. The system operates under strict data privacy protocols in compliance
    with applicable regulations.

    Disclaimer and Responsibility
    The disclaimer is intended to inform customers that the chatbot is an automated
    tool for general assistance and not a substitute for official booking channels.
    For any booking-related actions, we recommend using our official website or
    mobile app to ensure accuracy. IndiGo will not process any booking solely based
    on chatbot responses without customer confirmation.

Your feedback has been forwarded to the relevant team for review, and we are committed
to improving the customer experience.

Should you have further questions or require assistance, please feel free to reply
to this email or contact us at 0124-6173838.

Thank you for choosing IndiGo.

Regards,
Neha
Customer Experience Expert
www.goIndiGo.in

Abhinav Tushar @ gmail 	Mon, Nov 17, 2025 at 6:17 PM
To: IndiGo Customer Experience 
Hi, look I don't think you are taking this seriously at all. This reply is the same
as previous and I will repeat my exact questions again in case you are not reading
them before typing out the response:

1. The 'terms for chat' is a link that I can't access either from the homepage
or from the information page. Neither is this visible when I first click on the
chatbot button. This seems like a dark practice since anyone clicking on the bot
button should first know what they are getting into. It's also not mentioned
anywhere in the skai page. Can you please fix this?
2. If Indigo is not holding the accountability for the mistakes from the chatbot,
then what's the purpose of the (website) bot? At the present state, it seems to be
good enough as a search box, leading to various FAQ pages with reasonable accuracy.
Shouldn't this be replaced with a good search bar on the homepage. In any case, why
is there no search bar? Many of my questions to be bot were just unresolved and I
was given a link to some document. I would rather go there directly via a 'search bar'
instead of relying on a system that's declaring itself as unreliable.
3. I don't think any 'standard digital interaction protocols' imply implied consent.
Say I write my name and email etc. while conversing with your chatbot. From what
I can clearly see, that is parsed using OpenAI (a third party) by sending that PII
data to them. This is something I did not consent for and according to all data
protection laws, I need to give more proper consent before this can happen without me
knowing.
4. 'IndiGo ensures that personal data is handled securely and is not used for
unauthorized purposes'. I would like to understand what PII redaction method, if any,
are used for my responses in chatbot.

Additionally, I need information about:

1. Who all are the Data Processor for the chatbot? You mentioned Indigo, and I
can see OpenAI involved too. But what other entities are involved?
2. What categories of data are sent to the AI vendor?
3. What's the retention period for chat logs on all vendors?
4. What's the status of user data usage for profiling and model training?


Please note that I am talking about interactions with chatbot which might or might not
use my ID tied to my Indigo account. Even without logging in, I could provide PII in
chat conversations and I would like to understand answers to above questions in
that context too. 

In case you don't understand these questions, please forward them to the right
technical/legal person so they can provide the right response.

- Abhinav

[Quoted text hidden]

This seems like a huge digression from the topic, but bear with me for a while. This is not just IndiGo. Most web chatbots are a mockery of their claims and are primarily mini-websites with subset of capabilities that's already on the main. In that sense they don't create any value, instead they end up leading to more troubles, as you have seen above.

And this is not exactly going to change with adding more capability on the chatbot side. I remember when IndiGo's web chat was not based on an LLM, and there is no upgrade with an LLM. Business websites are windows to the capabilities they want to expose to the public and web chatbot can only work with what's already there. If businesses don't expose anything else, chatbot can't do anything else. Even the smartest of the AIs will have a bottleneck here.

There are indeed cases where chatbots provide a different capability than the website they sit in. Customer support chats in Amazon is one example. But they have their own set of issues. Cory has a write up here that most of you will relate with. If businesses don't want to talk to you, no amount of technology will get them talking.

This is also a good time to specify our focus. By web chatbots, we are also excluding the same chatbot accessible on other channels like WhatsApp. Arguably, they provide easier access to an untouched user base.

1. Other problems with Web Chatbots

1.1. They waste capital

Running a web chatbot obviously costs money. Specially in the current wave of AI, 'leaders' are willing to burn money on AI over any other system just because they don't want to miss out. Many implementation teams could be burning VC money and might offer you simple web chatbots for cheap, but you will ask for some edge-of-the-buzz LLM and that will cost you money, in various ways.

Figure 3: This piece of eye-sore is paid for from tax-payers' money

1.2. They invade privacy

Most of these chatbots have two issues under this category:

Most companies are not clear on what privacy concerns they should care about in chatbots and how the vendor is storing the data. For example I could enter all of my personal information³ in the chat and that might all go to a third party vendor without proper PII redaction. The companies are given some fluff regarding this by vendors but since this is new tech, no one checks, and no one cares.
Many chatbots are actually there to track your behaviour, capture leads and data in ways that are not very directly possible in website alone. They might embed certain JavaScript snippets to do this. At times not even the host web owners might be aware.

These are big issues. Most of us have answers for why web privacy isn't important for them by citing something like they don't have anything to hide. But privacy is also a systemic population concern. And there are certain population level responsibilities that one holds too, even as individuals.

1.3. They are distractions

Beyond all this, web chatbots just distract you from doing actual value added work. Most of the companies can provide more value to users by working on many other things instead of implementing a web chatbot.

A recent example is of the online bookstore Bookswagon. Bookswagon's search fails on very basic cases where you would expect any modern search system to work well. In fact most default settings on Elastic, Solr, or Lucene, should fix the issues. But instead of working on that, they somehow prioritized adding a web chatbot which uses the same search API and just weaves some worthless words around the whole process.

Figure 4: These two are the same images. The book is there by the way. Source for second graphic.

2. Chatbots for Accessibility

With all the problems, web chatbots actually have a really strong potential to act as accessibility tools for people to navigate websites more easily. You could argue that this is one of the purpose of such bots, but I will fight back. I feel this should be the only purpose. And if accessibility is an important concern, there will be signs. For example the website itself won't be broken, both functionally, and accessibility wise. And the chatbots themselves wouldn't defy all possible web accessibility guidelines.

You can still say accessibility is a spectrum and a website might not be color-blind friendly but could still be made friendly for old users who can chat, but can't navigate web apps since they might be a larger fraction of the footfall. But I truly think accessibility is a side effect with chatbots and not the focus, otherwise how do you justify a bot like this?

Figure 5: HDFC Life's web chatbot is a button-click chatbot and provides a strictly worse navigation tree than the website.

What if we do this right? With or without LLMs, chatbots can be made with their primary focus being easier conversational navigation of a website's information structure. I don't think I am looking at agentic browsing as a solution here since the ideal state there is not to navigate websites but to make most of the structure disappear. They are more tools of automation than accessibility.

What I would like is a system that lies somewhere between directly exposing an inaccessible website and hiding away all the underlying information structure. As a side effect of doing this, you also get a better support for visually impaired users since screen-reading over conversations is easier to support and maintain than doing the same over structured HTML.

I am bundling up my writings on Conversational AI in a small newsletter named Computational Conversations, in addition to the feeds on this website. I will be sending roughly one email a month.

If this sounds interesting, you can sign up below:

Web chatbots rarely add new capabilities. They repackage existing website functions behind a conversational layer while disclaiming responsibility for errors. Their real value lies not in automation or support deflection, but in accessibility, enabling conversational navigation for users who struggle with conventional interfaces. And this probably does not make practical sense for many businesses—they can have more returns from focusing on their website's UX first. But I believe there is value in having them on the users' side where they aren't made to serve a specific company's website or incentive structure. In case you have thoughts on how to bring this about, feel free to reach out.