47 real phone lines · called 8–9 Oct 2026
What an AI caller meets on 47 real support lines
We pointed an automated caller at the customer and provider lines of US airlines, banks, carriers, health insurers, pharmacy-benefit managers, government agencies, auto insurers, retailers, utilities and shippers, and mapped each one up to the point where it asked for an ID. The caller said it was AI whenever anything conversed with it, never claimed to be a customer, and never gave an identifier. Every prompt below is paraphrased.
The path our caller took
Press a key
Say it
Recorded menu
AI assistant (says so)
Identity gate
End or not mapped
Findings across all 47 lines
11 / 47Answer with an AI that says it's AIFour have names: PG&E's “Peggy”, Optum Rx's “Avery”, DIRECTV's “Eva” and Hertz's “Haley”. Delta's was the most capable. Three more (GEICO, State Farm, Marriott) disclose AI in the greeting.
7 / 7Banks and card issuers want an SSN, card or account number firstAmex opens with your card number or full SSN; Discover asks for the last four of your SSN before a person picks up. Insurer provider lines want an NPI or tax ID.
3 / 47Handed us to a personT-Mobile, State Farm, and Anthem when we never picked a language. Alaska quoted a 58-minute hold and American over an hour; the IRS hung up when we wouldn't pick a topic.
6 / 47Know who's calling before you speakXfinity, American and CVS look you up by caller ID and Verizon assumes it; Chase and Discover say your voice may be used for verification.
Where these lines break the patterns behind each line's problems
- No way to a person“Agent”, “operator” and “real person” are ignored or answered with triage at UnitedHealthcare, FedEx, UPS, Verizon, Medicare and Discover. Only T-Mobile, State Farm and Anthem handed us to someone.
- Misrecognition that ends the callUnited hung up after three misheard “no”s without offering the keypad, and the IRS hung up when we wouldn't choose a topic; UnitedHealthcare and Humana threaten to disconnect; PG&E's assistant ended the call mid-question.
- ID before any helpAll four banks and all four insurers gate on an identifier before saying anything useful. Chase opens with your Social Security number; Capital One with a 16-digit card number by voice.
- Third parties have no pathBillers, caregivers and anyone who is neither member nor provider get pushed to an ID they don't have at Cigna, UnitedHealthcare, Humana and Optum Rx.
- Wrong guesses, confidently confirmedFedEx guessed tech support, Walgreens repeated “prescription” after a no, and United heard a fee question as a payment.
- Assumed identityVerizon, Xfinity, American and CVS assume the caller is the account holder for the number calling.
- Language and key trapsHumana puts Spanish on 9 before English and dates day-first; CVS treats silence as choosing English; Southwest puts Spanish on 8.
- Time before the menuPromos (Xfinity, Walgreens), legal disclaimers (Aetna) and long notices play first; American quoted over an hour on hold, Alaska 58 minutes, Con Edison 5 to 10 minutes; SSA plays a long announcement first.