As household debt rises and more Americans fall behind on payments, debt collection is getting an AI-driven makeover — and it is not always getting things right.

New reporting from Wired found that some consumers are now being pursued by AI-powered debt collectors over bills they say were already taken care of.

What's happening?

Debt collection companies are increasingly turning to AI voice agents as private debt and overdue payments rise in the United States amid inflation and a weaker hiring environment. In practice, that means more collection calls are now being handled by bots rather than people.

One Portland resident, identified as Ben, told the outlet he received repeated calls about a $266 dispute with a former landlord even though the issue had already been settled. The calls came from an AI agent named Eve, which was working on behalf of debt collection company ProCollect and kept urging him to pay.

Ben said that when he tried to ask more detailed questions and reach a human, the system did not cooperate. He said he was transferred only after spending several minutes deliberately testing the bot with strange responses; the person who finally picked up confirmed the debt was already settled.

The use of these systems appears to be expanding quickly. One example is Altur, an AI call-center startup that says it places more than 2.5 million collection calls each month through AI agents.

Why does it matter?

The problem starts well before AI enters the picture. Debt collection often depends on tangled records, databases, and spreadsheets as accounts move from original creditors to later buyers and collectors. That creates room for errors.

When inaccurate or outdated records are fed into an automated system, the result can be especially frustrating. A human collector may not be pleasant to deal with, but a person can still hear an explanation, recognize a discrepancy, or escalate an issue. A bot may simply keep repeating the same demand.

Many households are already under pressure from higher costs and rising delinquencies. Being chased over an old or already-settled bill can create stress, waste time, and even push people to pay money they may not actually owe.

AI can help improve efficiency, support cleaner systems, and optimize parts of the energy grid, but it also relies on data centers that can consume large amounts of electricity and water. As more industries use AI for high-volume work, potential benefits have to be weighed against risks, including misuse, security concerns, unintended social harms, and the possibility of driving up costs.

What can I do?

If you are contacted about a debt — especially by an automated caller — pause before sending any payment. Review your records, look for past confirmations, and compare the claim with any documents you already have.

If the debt seems unfamiliar or has already been resolved, keep notes about the interaction and ask to speak with a human representative. Ben's experience suggests that AI systems may not reliably handle disputes, unusual questions, or situations that fall outside a narrow script.

Be careful about sharing banking or card information with an AI voice system before confirming that the debt is legitimate. Automation may make debt collection faster for companies, but faster does not necessarily mean more accurate.

As Pedro Fernández told Wired, debt collectors are some of his sector's "best early adopters." 

And when Ben tried to understand why the bot kept pursuing him, he said, "I figured it was just going to kick me over to a person when I asked about repayment structure or anything more technical."

Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here.