Who’s kidding who? We’re all guilty of it from time to time – perhaps most of the time.
Those pesky terms and conditions attached to many retail and other purchase agreements are simply too long, in far too small type and in legalese that would require a lawyer to translate.
A recent study conducted by research firm and tech site SoyaCincau demonstrates just how ridiculous the prospect of reading these terms and conditions is.
The study analyzed the terms and conditions of several big-name retailers and online companies. It found Microsoft’s terms and conditions is 15,260 words and would take 63.5 minutes to read. That’s more than an hour!
Spotify’s terms and conditions weigh in at 8,600 words and would take 35.8 minutes to digest and TikTok’s is 7,459 words and would take 31.4 minutes to get through. Apple, Zoom, Tinder, Slack, Uber and Twitter all have terms and conditions that would take well over 20 minutes to read. There are many more like these that people encounter every day.
Not surprisingly, a Deloitte survey of 2,000 U.S. consumers found that 91% of American don’t read the terms and conditions before agreeing to them. For people between 18 and 34, the Deloitte study noted the rate jumped to 97%. Many simply hold their breath, hope there’s nothing troublesome in there and sign the agreement. Down the line, though, those terms and conditions have caused disputes and dismay.
There’s recently been a lot of consternation about artificial intelligence (AI) and reading and writing programs like ChatGPT, but with the challenge of terms and conditions, it appears to be a real aid.
“There is a huge trust issue between retailers and consumers, due to outdated policies and regulations. AI tools and smart technologies such as ChatGPT may be the next disrupter as technological innovation continues to surge,” explains Monica Eaton, CEO of Chargebacks911, a Florida-based chargeback management and fraud company.
AI and machine-learning software can help ordinary people by digging through legalese and summarizing what intricate terminology means in plain language. This technology can read a long contract – in less than a tenth of a time a person can – and summarize it, highlighting key points.
Here’s how it works. Software programmers feed thousands of contracts to an AI-driven program like ChatGPT and train it to identify what could be considered good and bad about each example. The AI learns from this, finding patterns in the sample texts and discerning what should (and should not) be in a contract.
Once the software is trained, users can input a contract and let the AI compare it to existing examples and highlight any glaring issues. AI tools can analyze legal documents and identify potential issues such as rights violations, allowing the consumer to investigate them further. These AI tools serve as a helpful guide for reading the terms and conditions, and a useful resource for individuals navigating complex agreements.
Some AI contract tools simply point out problems, but others can suggest changes and revise the contract directly.
Before we get the cart before the horse, no one – including AI programmers – are suggesting this technology could or should replace human lawyers. There are still lots of skills and abilities they have, when it comes to contracts, that AI does not.
However, lawyers and law firms are more commonly using AI in some of their work with contracts.
Right now, AI is proving ideal for the more mundane tasks, like reading and understanding terms and conditions, that everyday people struggle with.
These emerging AI programs shouldn’t simply be seen as a way for consumers to play gotcha with retailers. The technology could also be helpful to the retailers themselves by helping them produce terms and conditions that are clear and help avoid conflict with their customers.
Eaton claims that vague and confusing return and refund policies in agreements can lead to customers disputing charges on their credit card statements, resulting in chargebacks and potential harm to a retailer’s reputation.
Anthony Schoettle is the director of communications for the Indiana Chamber. He started with the Chamber in 2021 after a long career in journalism. He’s won multiple awards for his storytelling ability on a wide range of business topics.
