WSIB won't confirm or deny the chatbot, but the union warns of deeper cuts beyond the 566 already announced
The Ontario Compensation Employees Union (OCEU) alleges the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) is developing a customer-facing chatbot intended to replace at least 30 per cent of its customer service representatives within months, an allegation the Crown agency would not confirm or deny when put to it directly.
The claim comes as WSIB is already consolidating offices across Ontario, cuts the union says have affected 566 employees, including 492 bargaining unit members and 74 managers. The union says the chatbot represents a further threat on top of those job losses, not a description of them, though WSIB's silence on the technology has done little to draw that line for the public.
Union alleges undisclosed chatbot and vendor ties
Harry Goslin, president of the OCEU, said the union has confirmed through independent sources that an unnamed WSIB executive director is overseeing chatbot development, despite the board telling the union the project isn't real.
"We know 100 per cent that the WSIB is working on a chatbot that they're looking to replace at least 30 per cent of our customer service representatives, the people that take the incoming calls," Goslin said.
Goslin said WSIB has also expanded its relationship with Owl.co, a Vancouver-based AI claims company backed by California's Cota Capital, to change how the board adjudicates claims. He linked that relationship to WSIB president and CEO Jeff Lang's scheduled appearance at ITC Vegas, a major insurance-technology conference running Sept. 29 to Oct. 1, 2026, where Lang is listed alongside Owl.co CEO Sean Merat as a main-stage speaker, according to the event's official agenda.
"They're looking at expanding the use of OWL AI to change the way they adjudicate claims," Goslin said, adding that WSIB had previously told the union it was building an in-house tool called "Meredith AI." Goslin said the union now believes Meredith is in fact underpinned by outside vendors, including Owl, CGI and Guidewire, technology he flagged as notable given the sector's reliance on U.S.-based providers.
A public case study published by Guidewire, a California-based claims-processing software provider, describes WSIB embedding AI directly into its "core systems" and using generative AI for tasks including claim summaries and correspondence triage. The case study quotes WSIB chief operating officer Gavin Pokan describing the technology as "a co-pilot" for adjudicators working through complex claims, a characterization that raises questions about how far the tool's role extends beyond simple administrative support, part of broader concerns in the sector about AI's impact on frontline safety roles.
WSIB says its AI tools are for administrative support
WSIB's technology tools, including the claim summary tool at the centre of the union's concerns, are intended to reduce administrative work rather than replace staff, according to a WSIB statement. The tool "is about augmenting our ability to do our work better, easier and faster" and has no connection to the board's decision to consolidate claim and account management functions, read the statement.
When asked directly, WSIB did not confirm or deny it is developing an AI chatbot to engage directly with employers and workers. When asked to detail the scope of its AI plans beyond the claim summary tool, the board did not answer that question either.
Grievances, FOI fights and the human cost
The union has filed active grievances alleging WSIB breached its collective agreement by failing to engage the union before finalizing its AI-related plans and office closures, giving affected employees what Goslin described as only days' notice. Because WSIB falls under the Crown Employees Collective Bargaining Agreement framework, those grievances go to Ontario's Grievance Settlement Board, which Goslin said is taking 18 months to two years to schedule hearings due to understaffing. The union has also filed Freedom of Information (FOI) requests it says WSIB has denied, forcing an appeal process Goslin characterized as a delay tactic.
Goslin pointed to the relocation terms offered to affected staff as evidence the cuts go beyond a simple real estate consolidation. WSIB has asked employees to relocate to centralized offices in Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa and London without offering employment stability assurances.
"We're talking about people that are moving from locations where your average home is anywhere from $400,000 to $500,000, and you're moving into markets where most homes are going to cost $1 million, and they have no assurances that this will be a secure place to work in the future," Goslin said.
The dispute follows the union's separate push for universal WSIB coverage earlier this year, and adds to the push for broader WSIB governance reform already underway at Queen's Park. For safety and HR leaders watching WSIB's rollout, the standoff underscores a wider tension as AI moves from administrative support into functions like claims adjudication and customer service: even a well-established, unionized employer is struggling to agree with its own workforce on how much to disclose as the technology is deployed.
