ANALYSIS: Are AI Chatbots a Product or a Service?

The subject of this article may come across as somewhat of a philosophical question. However, the question of whether artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots are a product or a service is a legitimate legal issue that courts will have to consider when the first strict product liability claims arise against the generative AI technology.

As the Ninth Circuit aptly stated in 1991, “products liability law is geared to the tangible world.” There’s a critical distinction between tangible items—such as hardware, equipment and furniture—and intangible items, such as ideas and expressions.

It’s very likely that courts in the future will find that ...