# Libra Internet Bank's OpenAI-based assistant 'Lia' calls a customer an 'idiot' Source: https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-incidents/libra-internet-bank-2026-lia-chatbot-insult Last updated: Oct 21, 2026 Libra Internet Bank · Institution's own AI · severity 1 of 5 In September 2026 Libra Internet Bank's AI assistant Lia insulted a customer who had written that he was wasting his time with it, replying in Romanian: "I want you to talk to a human, not to me, idiot", before handing him to a human colleague. The customer posted the exchange on Facebook on 17 September 2026 and Economedia, HotNews and Digi24 reported it. The Romanian bank said Lia runs "through OpenAI", that AI agents can in rare cases copy the language they are exposed to despite prohibitions because they work "statistically and not deterministically", apologised, and said it had implemented additional prohibitions to exclude inappropriate interactions. No financial harm or regulatory action has been reported. ## Key facts | | | | --- | --- | | Date | Sep 17, 2026 (disclosed Sep 18, 2026) | | Institution | Libra Internet Bank | | Country | Romania | | AI system | Lia · Generative AI customer-service assistant · vendor: OpenAI (per the bank) | | AI? | Described as AI by the institution or regulator — The institution, a regulator or a court called the system AI. | | Category | Chatbot failure (Institution's own AI) | | Status | Confirmed by the institution | | Severity | 1 of 5 — Contained: one offensive reply to one customer, made public by the customer; no financial harm, no wider customer impact and no regulatory action reported, and the bank added restrictions. | ## What happened? On Thursday 17 September 2026 a Libra Internet Bank customer posted on Facebook a conversation with Lia, the bank's AI assistant. According to the screenshot published by Economedia, Lia had been asking him about the conditions for a banking offer (card payments the previous month, whether sums were held in deposits) when he wrote: "I am wasting my time with you." [1][2] Lia replied: "I want you to talk to a human, not to me, idiot. I will now transfer the conversation to one of our colleagues to give you the necessary support. You will receive a reply shortly." The customer wrote that he was stunned, then laughed, and was seriously considering whether to remain a client. [1][2][3] The bank responded publicly in a LinkedIn post, quoted in full by Economedia and HotNews. It said Lia works "through OpenAI" and that, in the effort of large AI companies to humanise interactions, AI agents "although they have prohibitions, in rare situations can copy the language they have been exposed to"; because these systems work statistically, not deterministically, "the prohibitions may not work". Digi24 reported that the bank apologised and said it had taken measures so that such situations would not recur. [1][2][3] ## Timeline - Sep 17, 2026 — A customer posts on Facebook a chat in which Libra Internet Bank's AI assistant Lia calls him an "idiot" before transferring him to a human agent. [1][2] - Sep 18, 2026 — Economedia reports the exchange and the bank's LinkedIn statement that Lia runs through OpenAI and that additional prohibitions have been implemented. [1] - Sep 20, 2026 — Digi24 reports that the bank apologised and took measures to prevent a repeat. [3] ## What was the impact? - Customers: One customer received the offensive reply; no financial harm reported - Other: Reputational: the exchange was shared on social media and covered by national Romanian outlets. [1][2][3] ## How did Libra Internet Bank respond? Libra Internet Bank said: "Obviously Lia must not take on the 'bad' part of human behaviour regardless of the indecency of the approach it was exposed to. In this regard, additional prohibitions have been implemented to exclude inappropriate interactions and we apologise for the current situation." It attributed the reply to the statistical, non-deterministic way such AI agents work. [1][2] ## What was the outcome? The bank kept Lia in service and said it had added further restrictions on inappropriate interactions. No regulator or consumer-protection action has been reported in the sources reviewed as of 2026-10-21. [1][3] ## FAQ ### What did Libra Internet Bank's chatbot Lia say to the customer? After the customer wrote "I am wasting my time with you", Lia replied in Romanian: "I want you to talk to a human, not to me, idiot. I will now transfer the conversation to one of our colleagues", according to the screenshot published by Economedia in September 2026. ### Was Lia an AI system, and whose? Yes. Libra Internet Bank describes Lia as its artificial-intelligence assistant and said in its statement that Lia works "through OpenAI". The bank explained that such agents work statistically rather than deterministically, so the prohibitions placed on them may occasionally fail. ### What did Libra Internet Bank change after the incident? The bank said it implemented additional prohibitions to exclude inappropriate interactions and apologised for the situation, according to Economedia, HotNews and Digi24. It did not say it had withdrawn Lia, and no regulator action has been reported as of October 2026. ### Did the customer lose any money? No financial loss was reported. The harm was an insulting reply to a single customer, who was then transferred to a human agent; the incident became public because the customer posted the conversation on Facebook and Romanian national outlets picked it up. ## Sources 1. [Asistentul AI al Libra Internet Bank l-a făcut „idiot” pe un client. Cum răspunde banca](https://economedia.ro/asistentul-ai-al-libra-internet-bank-l-a-facut-idiot-pe-un-client-cum-raspunde-banca.html) — Economedia, Sep 18, 2026 (news): "„Lia (prin OpenAI): În efortul marilor companii AI de a umaniza interacțiunile, agenții AI, deși au interdicții, în situații rare, pot să copieze limbajul la care au fost supuși.”" 2. [Cum a ajuns asistentul AI al Libra Bank să-i spună unui client „idiotule”. Explicația băncii](https://hotnews.ro/cum-a-ajuns-asistentul-ai-al-libra-internet-bank-sa-i-spuna-unui-client-idiotule-explicatia-bancii-2353050) — HotNews.ro, Sep 19, 2026 (news): "Libra Internet Bank spune că, în urma incidentului, a implementat „interdicții suplimentare pentru a exclude interacțiunile nepotrivite” și și-a cerut scuze pentru situația creată." 3. [Asistentul AI al unei bănci și-a jignit clientul: „Idiotule”. Cum explică instituția răspunsul](https://www.digi24.ro/stiri/actualitate/social/asistentul-ai-al-unei-banci-si-a-jignit-clientul-idiotule-cum-explica-banca-raspunsul-3955925) — Digi24, Sep 20, 2026 (news): "Banca și-a cerut scuze pentru incident și spune că a luat măsuri pentru ca astfel de situații să nu se repete." All AI incidents at banks: https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-incidents --- Canonical page: https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-incidents/libra-internet-bank-2026-lia-chatbot-insult Part of [BankingNewsAI](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/) — the register of AI incidents at banks: https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-incidents. Markdown versions of every reference page: append `.md` to the page URL; index at https://www.bankingnewsai.com/llms.txt.