Canada BMW dealership honors 'too good to be true' $27,162.79 deal its AI chatbot made to customer by mistake
Published on Jun 12, 2026 at 8:12 PM (UTC+4)
by Ben Thompson
Last updated on Jun 12, 2026 at 8:12 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Mason Jones
This Canadian BMW dealership ended up honoring a deal its AI chatbot accidentally made to a customer.
Zack Giacomelli was left stunned when he was offered a great deal to buy back his 2021 BMW.
He’d be offered $27,162.79, which would have covered the remaining balance on the car.
But things weren’t so straightforward; technology really is one step forward, two steps back sometimes.
Things got complicated fast for this Canadian BMW dealership
When Giacomelli was offered $27,162.79 for his BMW over a text message, he decided to push a little further and secured himself an offer of $28,000.
He was told to come by the dealership to lock in the deal.
Happy days, right?
Well, not quite, as he received a call from a human sales consultant a few moments later.
It was at this point where they fessed up that an AI chatbot had made the offer in error.
This obviously came as a disappointment for Giacomelli, to have the rug pulled out from under him.
“If they’re going to be replacing their employees’ jobs with AI, then they need to be honoring what that AI says,” Giacomelli told CBC News.
Fortunately for him, the dealership ultimately ended up honoring the deal and paying him $27,162.79.
AI is advancing faster than humans can keep up with
In this day and age, AI has become part of the fabric of everyday life.
What once seemed like something relegated to sci-fi has become all too real.
One AI startup has become a one-stop salon for diagnostics, costs, and more, while Google Gemini is a deft hand when it comes to oil changes.
And that’s not forgetting YouTube, where 20 percent of the content is now AI-generated.
As the technology advances faster than we keep up with, we can’t be too surprised if more AI slip-ups occur.
Incidentally, there is precedent in Canadian law for this kind of thing happening – so Giacomelli would have likely had the law on his side, had BMW not honored the promise made by its chatbot.
A company needs to be wary of what their AI chatbot tell people
In 2024, Air Canada was on the hook when its chatbot gave out incorrect information to a traveler.
Jake Moffatt had been promised a discount by the airline’s chatbot, assuring him that he could book a full-fare flight for his grandmother’s funeral and then apply for a bereavement fare afterwards, BBC News reported.
However, Air Canada tried to argue that it wouldn’t honor this because the chatbot was a ‘separate legal entity that is responsible for its own actions’.
It ended up going to court, where the British Columbia Civil Resolution Tribunal ruled that Air Canada should pay Moffatt $581 (812 Canadian dollars).
Ben joined Supercar Blondie in February 2025 after being published by international organizations including LADbible, The Sun, the New York Post, and the Daily Mail. He covers supercars, rare and collectible vehicles, aviation, luxury assets, and the fascinating people behind them. His reporting has explored everything from seven-figure supercars and historic Ferrari collections to unusual aircraft adventures and extraordinary automotive discoveries from around the world. Ben has also gained first-hand insight into vehicle craftsmanship and customization, including visiting specialist workshops to see bespoke vehicles up close.
