Gig Workers Use AI to Challenge Uber and Instacart Deactivations

Gig workers on Uber and Instacart are increasingly using AI chatbots to challenge account deactivations, seeking to navigate arbitration and contract terms with limited legal resources. The process can require workers to respond to vague claims, assemble evidence, estimate lost earnings, and persuade arbitrators, prompting some to turn to tools such as ChatGPT, Copilot, or Claude to draft letters, build arguments, and identify next steps. One deactivated Instacart worker said he used ChatGPT to dispute an allegation that he failed to follow the correct delivery route, generate wage-loss estimates, and decide when to reply to the company while searching for pro bono counsel. An Uber driver in Tennessee said ChatGPT helped him compose a reinstatement request citing Uber’s driver contract and suggested emailing Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi alongside the standard arbitration channel; his account was later restored. Experts say AI can help workers who lack funds for specialized labor attorneys but should not be treated as a complete substitute for legal strategy. Robert Bruno, a labor and employment relations professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, said AI-generated evidence summaries may level the field, yet workers still need persuasive, case-specific arguments and may face credibility issues if AI briefs contain errors. The trend also highlights an asymmetry in AI use by platforms: Uber has said its customer-service staff use AI to draft responses to drivers, while Uber and Instacart have declined to detail how AI contributes to initial deactivation decisions. Uber said appeals are evaluated with data and facts regardless of how an appeal is submitted and reviewed by a person, while Instacart said it does not take deactivations lightly and allows appeals. The development underscores how generative AI is becoming an everyday tool for labor disputes, giving individual contractors a way to contest opaque enforcement decisions even as legal and reputational risks remain.