Co-op Legal Services Uses AI to Score Customer Calls, Drawing Worker Concerns

Co-op Legal Services says AI helps its advisers deliver empathetic guidance. For one worker, it means feeling watched through hours of conversations with customers, often recently bereaved. The Guardian reported on October 8 that the company recently introduced a system that records, analyzes and scores customer-advice calls, putting its coaching promise alongside concerns about intensive surveillance.

Every call becomes a performance score

The rollout began in the previous couple of months and covers dozens of legal-services staff, according to the Guardian. The system reviews every call made by the affected advisers, whose customers seek help with probate, wills and estates.

An OpenAI model has been trained to assess more than 50 separate aspects of each conversation. It produces percentage ratings and pass-or-fail scores that managers use to analyze employee performance. The system is also used to identify ways advisers can improve sales performance—not just to check the quality of advice.

A worker speaking anonymously to the Guardian said the monitoring could last several hours a day. They distinguished it from occasional listening for compliance checks: the concern was that every word was being assessed. The worker said that scrutiny created distrust and described the system as “oppressive and dystopian”.

The efficiency of AI over traditional methods allows us to review all customer conversations to ensure we consistently deliver high standards of service, while enabling more informed support, coaching and development for colleagues

Caoilionn Hurley, managing director of Co-op Life Services, speaking to the Guardian

Coaching, not decision-making

Co-op rejected the criticism, saying it did not recognize that account and that its probate advisers were highly engaged. It described AI as a key part of quality assurance and said the technology is solely a support tool, not a decision-maker. Leaders use it to support colleagues and improve clients’ experience, the company said.

Hurley, whose Life Services division includes legal services, said the goal was expert support combined with understanding during a difficult time for clients. She said AI helps deliver that consistently, while human judgment, accountability, care and kindness remain central to client relationships.

The pressure of structured feedback

John Chadfield, national officer of the Communication Workers Union, criticized the deployment, arguing that AI can intensify working lives and that unaccountable computer systems should not act as managers. His objection concerns how workers are managed, rather than whether the system can process more calls.

Workplace policy adviser Hayfa Mohdzaini described structured performance feedback as making offices more like factories, and said managers may need to adjust their approach. The International Labour Organization has also warned that AI monitoring can pose psychological and social risks, including increased work-related stress.