Co-op Legal Services, part of the British co-operative that also runs supermarkets, funeral services and insurance businesses, is using AI to record, analyse and score calls between its staff and customers, according to The Guardian. A whistleblower called the system “oppressive and dystopian”, and the Co-op said it did not recognise the criticism.
What happened
The story appeared in TechScape, the Guardian’s technology newsletter, written by its US tech editor Blake Montgomery. According to the newsletter, the Co-op has brought in automated listening technology that rates every phone call some of its employees make to customers. The staff concerned work for Co-op Legal Services and advise people on probate, wills and estates. The AI models record each conversation, analyse it and then give it a percentage score.
One Co-op worker spoke to the Guardian on condition of anonymity and summed up how it feels from the inside: “You are being watched.” In response, the Co-op said its probate advisers were highly engaged.
The Guardian presents the Co-op case as the latest example of a wider pattern. It reports that employees around the world are being monitored more and more closely at work, and that small changes in their behaviour can lead to negative performance reviews. Two examples from the United States are cited. Amazon warehouse workers have complained that their bathroom breaks were timed. At Kaiser Permanente, a hospital chain in California, nurses said automated systems rated their tone of voice when they spoke with patients.
Some lawmakers are starting to respond, and faster than technology regulation usually moves. The Guardian reports that the California governor, Gavin Newsom, signed laws last week that ban certain types of workplace surveillance. The laws target practices such as heat maps that follow employees’ movements, including how long they spend in the bathroom, and systems that monitor workers’ emotional states.
The same newsletter also asks who actually gains from AI. It points to the Guardian’s Reworked series, which found that women are being left behind in the AI boom. Research by LinkedIn cited in the series found that, across AI-related occupations, men’s median pay is $45,000 higher than women’s, partly because of the kinds of roles each group tends to be hired into. A second Reworked story describes refugees in Kenya doing data work for foreign technology companies. Their pay depends on a “reward” system that judges the quality of their work and decides whether they get paid at all. Many of them called the system unfair but said they had few other options.
Why it matters if you live in United Kingdom
The Co-op is a familiar name on British high streets, and this story is about a UK employer, not a distant tech company. If you have used Co-op Legal Services for advice on a will, probate or an estate, or plan to, the Guardian’s report means that some of those phone calls are recorded and assessed by AI. People in that situation are often dealing with a bereavement, so it helps to know how the conversation is being handled before you pick up the phone.
For workers, the report shows that automated performance scoring is already used in professional advice roles in Britain, not only in warehouses or overseas call centres. If your job involves phone calls with customers, the Co-op case gives you a concrete reason to ask your employer whether software rates those calls, what it measures and how the scores feed into your evaluations. The whistleblower’s account suggests that the people being scored do not always find the system fair or transparent.
The contrast with California also matters. The Guardian reports new legal limits on some workplace surveillance there. Its article does not describe any equivalent new measure in the UK, so British workers should not assume the same protections apply here.
The broader questions apply here too. The Guardian quotes OpenAI’s chief executive, Sam Altman, saying on a podcast that “the world should accept some bad things happening for the benefits of this technology.” Altman was talking about risks such as hacking and attempted misuse. The newsletter argues that the human cost to workers, from scored phone calls to unpaid data labour, deserves the same attention.
What to watch next
The first thing to watch is whether the Co-op changes or explains its call-scoring system now that the whistleblower’s account is public. So far the company has defended its advisers’ engagement and rejected the criticism, but it has not detailed how the scores are used.
The second is whether California’s laws influence other places. The Guardian notes that worker resentment is already turning into policy there, and other governments may face similar pressure as more stories like the Co-op’s come out.
Finally, the Guardian is asking readers whether they have been monitored or assessed by AI at work. If you have, that callout is one way to add your experience to the record. As AI moves from the factory floor into offices and advice lines, monitored workers will increasingly be the ones raising these questions. For more coverage of AI at work, visit Mylistingo.
Source: The Guardian
Sources
- The Guardian: Employees all over the world find themselves monitored by AI at work, accessed 13 October 2026
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