Co-op scores every probate call with AI — workers call it 'dystopian'
An OpenAI-based system now rates dozens of Co-op legal staff on every call with grieving customers, part of a fast-spreading wave of AI workplace monitoring.
What happened: Co-op Legal Services has started using an AI model, built on OpenAI technology, to record and grade phone calls between its probate, wills and estates advisers and customers. The system checks more than 50 aspects of each call and returns a pass or fail score that managers use to judge performance. A whistleblower told the Guardian the rollout, covering dozens of staff over the last couple of months, feels 'oppressive and dystopian' because it means being monitored almost constantly rather than occasionally sampled for compliance.
Why it matters: This isn't an isolated case. The Guardian also reported Multiverse using AI to blanket-monitor live online classes, which teachers called 'remorseless'. Burger King announced similar call-tracking for US restaurant staff, and Meta paused keystroke tracking this summer after employee backlash. Unions and the International Labour Organization warn this pattern is spreading faster than any rules governing it, with real risk of added stress for the people being watched.
How it works, plainly: Every call an adviser handles, often with recently bereaved customers, is recorded and fed to the AI model, which scores dozens of specific behaviours and hands managers a performance readout. Co-op says the tool only supports human judgment and never makes decisions itself, but workers say it changes the feel of the job: instead of being checked occasionally, they're assessed on literally everything said, for hours a day, including for sales performance.
The rollout: Co-op defends the system as a quality-assurance measure that lets it review every conversation rather than a small sample, saying it helps deliver consistent, empathetic service and gives staff more targeted coaching. The Communication Workers Union and the CIPD both say the shift risks turning offices into factory-like environments. The ILO has warned the technology is being deployed without a comprehensive regulatory framework, leaving the psychosocial fallout largely unaddressed.