Using AI To Close Accounts - Response In Less Than 10 Minutes

I received a newsletter email today from a company I had created an account to try their services, but never really used it.

I could have sent it to spam or used the “unsubscribe” button but I decided to try something else.

I decided not to do so as I remembered this company still had my data; the account was still open. I had previously done the steps on their website to close the account but never received a response, and I never follow up on it. I had sent a very generic “please close my account message”, which didn’t help.

I noticed that the footer on the newsletter mentioned the company was from California.

California has pretty strong privacy laws as the “California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)” exists, so I thought if I sent a message that mentioned the “right to delete” of the CCPA may be a much stronger message to get the account closed. Even though not all companies headquartered in California need to comply with CCPA, I thought it was worth a shot.

Europe has a similar law known as GDPR, and companies that are outside of the European Union that have customers from the Eurozone need to comply with it.

I thought why not ask ChatGPT to get an email crafted for me? The question looked like this:

Write me an email to close an account under CCPA laws

It gave me a nice template to work on.

Tip: I recommend not to send to ChatGPT confidential data such as emails) as it could use the data for training the model and is a real wild west of what would happen to it.

I noticed the template used “As a California resident”. I prompted ChatGPT not to use that phrase.

The template looked like this:

Subject: Request to Close Account under CCPA Laws

Dear [Company Name],

I am writing to request the closure of my account with your company under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). As a customer, I have the right to request the deletion of my personal information that you have collected and stored about me.

Please confirm that you have received this email and that you will delete all of my personal information from your database and any third-party service providers you may use. This includes but is not limited to my name, address, phone number, email address, and any other identifying information that you have collected.

I understand that the closure of my account may result in the loss of any data, preferences, or other personalized settings associated with my account. However, I am willing to accept this consequence in order to protect my privacy.

Please let me know if there are any additional steps that I need to take to ensure that my request is fulfilled. I appreciate your prompt attention to this matter.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

Technically, the CCPA is for California residents, but many tech companies have expanded it to cover all American residents. Washington Post Source

I am also not American, but it seems is more complex for the companies to verify if you are a resident of X jurisdiction. It is easier for the companies to just process your request and don’t discriminate.

I emailed it and received the confirmation:

In 8 minutes, I received an email telling me that the account was closed.

ChatGPT is incredible at helping you do many types of tasks faster or more effectively. I believe the additional context of citing the California law may have made it a much more effective message. Maybe they even scan for those keywords in their support messages.