eBay Layoffs Loom Large, Sellers Worry Support May Be Replaced By AI
As eBay undertakes 9% reduction in workforce laying off ~1,000 employees, users express concerns over increasing use of AI for critical support and trust and safety functions previously handled by humans.
Over the last few weeks, buyers and sellers are increasingly finding their attempts to report listings that clearly violate eBay policies stymied by AI-based enforcement decisions that often miss the mark.
eBay has used some level of automation in their trust and safety and policy enforcement operations for some time, but sellers have recently been taken aback by the notifications they've been receiving explicitly stating that decisions have been made using automation or artificial intelligence.
I reported a false listing from a bad seller. Ebay emailed me saying that they use AI and determined that my claim will not be supported. The listing is totally false and is a scam.
2/ Can no longer contact EBay in Australia via live chat or phone. So apparently outright fraud is now ok on @ebay because when you report it ... NOTHING happens. The auto-AI says everything is fine when a seller wants to charge $9.99 for absolutely nothing at all.
— Vicki Nunn *I stand with Israel* 🇮🇱 (@Vicki_Nunn_2) January 9, 2024
Maybe you should investigate that fake patch without AI... 😅 OMG @eBay ... 🤦♂️ pic.twitter.com/efTZczQhhn
— houde.collector (@sebhoud) January 10, 2024
Well it appears your AI automation thinks it's fine to describe an item as a branded WILSON item when it isn't. I wonder what @WilsonTennis or @WilsonTennisUK would make of that? pic.twitter.com/fPMOhrKmwF
— Mr.Punch 👊 (@sawaytodoit) January 10, 2024
As one seller points out, it's difficult to tell if this is an indication that use of AI for these functions has significantly increased or if eBay is simply only recently beginning to disclose this information when they had previously not done so.
User submitted reports of listings have always been looked at by bots (AI). It used to be that that eBay would say the outcome of the report would not be communicated so the only way to know was to watch the listing and see if it was removed or not. Many users complained about reported listings staying up.
The only thing that changed is that within the last few weeks, users who report listings receive an AI generated response about the outcome of the report. The same bots are processing the reports, it’s just that now instead of assuming the bots didn’t find the listing to violate policy because they weren’t removed, we no longer have to assume
That's a plausible theory, as earlier this month eBay updated the User Agreement for Ireland with specific changes to comply with the Digital Services Act which will soon go into effect in certain areas of Europe.
Liz Morton
Among the changes included in the update was specific language about disclosure of the use of AI or automated methods for adjudication and resolution of reports regarding illegal and IP infringing items on the platform.
In case of a notice according to paragraphs 10.3(a) and 10.3(b), eBay has the right to forward the content of the notice as well as the data submitted with the notice to the user who has posted the reported content. The identity of the notifying person will be disclosed to the user only where this is strictly necessary, and permitted under applicable law.
In the context of its voluntary checks as per paragraph 10.2 and the notices under paragraph 10.3, eBay uses various procedures and tools to identify, review and moderate the content. This may include human review, automated review, or a combination of human and automated review, depending on the individual case. Further information about the technologies eBay uses as part of automated reviews can be found here.
Whenever automated means have been used to review content with eBay subsequently taking action with respect to that content, eBay will inform the user who uploaded the content about the use of automated means to the extent that eBay's and its users' legitimate interests do not preclude this.
It's entirely possible eBay has simply gone the responsible (and easier to program) route of providing this disclosure in most circumstances, even in regions where there may not (yet) be regulations or legislation requiring it.
Sellers are also speculating eBay may be increasingly using AI to make determinations on feedback removal requests - though there are no similar disclosures in these cases, leaving the question open as to whether or not human review is still part of the process.
I recently got a negative feedback for item not received. Tracking shows delivered. First attempt was undelivered because of "animals". Second attempt shows successful delivery. Buyer sent me an angry message that they were home when first attempt was made and another with "Peace" afterwards. I guess they were still mad and left a negative feedback with "Item not delivered". Checked this person's buying history and all past purchases (four including mine) all show negative feedback for item not received. One person out of the four seems to have been able to remove the feedback.
With hope that mine would be removed too, I filled out the negative feedback removal request with tracking number and get a message back that it's not eligible to be removed because it follows the policies and people should be allowed to voice their opinions. For something as pivotal as feedback, are we just getting bots to review our requests? And if it is an actual person reviewing these requests, what a disappointment.
I was discussing with another seller recently, that I believe eBay has shifted to AI on feedback removal requests through Seller Help.
After FB removal requests were addressed, I always got a survey asking me to rate the experience. 2 general questions about the experience, then 2 general questions that specifically mentioned the CS rep's name asking how they did.
More recent FB removal requests generate the survey, but only 2 general questions and that's it. The 2 additional questions mentioning a specific CS rep are no longer included.
eBay shifted management of listing violation reports to AI not that long ago, so it's not surprising they are shifting other areas to be more AI-driven and using fewer humans. Just a couple days ago they laid off 1K employees.
Sellers discussing the recent layoffs in the eBay community also expressed concern that the company's plans to cutback on contractors may impact live human customer service availability.
"scale back contracts with alternate workforces" - does that translate to off shore outsourced CS and IT?
A few months ago eBay removed the callback option from one of the primary help pages, which, in my opinion with no facts to back it up other than the change that took place, could point to them preparing for downsized CS phone service. Downsized even more than the big 2020 changes.
eBay's 10-Q filing in July 2023 revealed the company incurred $12 Million in increased customer support costs in the first half of 2023, but frustrated sellers wondered where it all went as the support experience continued to go downhill - specifically calling out the lack of callback options and increasingly being routed through labyrinthine automated phone menus or online self-service resources.
Liz Morton
At the time, we speculated that $12 Million increase was a one-off situation as eBay may have been deploying more automated and AI driven support systems with the hope it would drive future cost savings.
CEO Jamie Iannone and CFO Steve Priest also expressed a newfound focus on "expense discipline" and confirmed they had been deploying more AI into their global customer experience (GCX) operations.
Liz Morton
As Steve talked about the cost structure, one of the things we're looking at is how do we leverage AI and technologies so that our costs don't grow as our volume grows?
So I'll give you an example of, one of the areas we've been investing a lot in is our customer support. And so if you look at like our GCX expenses, our customer support expenses, we've been rolling out conversational help bots over the course of the last few quarters, really advancing what we're doing there so that we can, focus a lot of our efforts into handling more calls and greater volume with higher customer satisfaction.
As an example, we just launched that as a trial in Germany. We've had that live in some of our English markets. An example of some of the initiatives that we're going to do next year to manage the business and make sure that as Steve said, we're going after the growth opportunities in the business, while being prudent about our expense structure.
However, despite Jamie's claim of increased customer satisfaction, sellers who pay a premium for Anchor and Enterprise level Store subscriptions are frustrated at the increased use of chatbots replacing the dedicated higher tier support they are supposed to receive.
Liz Morton
Unfortunately, given the news this week and Jamie's earnings call comments, sellers will likely be faced with even further erosion of the support experience as the use of AI and automation is set to increase this year.
What do you think of eBay's use of AI for critical customer service and trust and safety issues? Let us know in the comments below!
