If you were to take a look at any popular website today, the odds of there being an AI chatbot are pretty high. While they can’t offer the same type of social interaction as a human representative, there’s no denying these virtual helpers provide benefits. They can be a cost-effective way to automate tasks, answer frequently asked questions and tailor responses based on individual needs, helping customers and organizations alike.
The primary challenge with integrating chatbots and large language models (LLMs) into customer-facing experience is ensuring that responses are fair, reliable and accurate.
Fortunately, organizations can use the Synack Platform for systemic testing and auditing of their chatbot outputs, ensuring they align with ethical standards, customer expectations and brand values. Synack’s AI Content and Bias Assessment goes beyond cybersecurity vulnerabilities to assess generative AI applications for content violations and evidence of bias.
Why Content Auditing and Bias Matter
1. Content Quality Impacts Your Brand
Low-quality, irrelevant or inappropriate responses frustrate users and harm user satisfaction. Rigorous content auditing ensures consistency, professionalism and accuracy across chatbot interactions.
2. Bias Reduces Trust
Many people turn to chatbots for easy access to information, facts about an organization and general assistance. However, unchecked biases in chatbot responses can alienate users and reinforce harmful stereotypes. According to research by the University of Delaware, AI LLMs that were studied showed a 40% to 60% bias against minorities. These negative user experiences shouldn’t be taken lightly as they can damage a company’s status and erode user trust, while inaccurate or inappropriate content can derail meaningful conversations and sway potential customers in a different direction. Without proper visibility, biased outputs can proliferate without organizational knowledge.
3. Regulations are Catching Up
As AI governance frameworks emerge, businesses face increasing regulatory pressure to prove their systems are unbiased and safe. In December 2023, four U.S. federal agencies made a joint statement regarding their ability and commitment to enforce laws and regulations regarding unlawful bias and discrimination in AI chatbots. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has also urged organizations to take action to mitigate risks and thoroughly assess chatbots, providing guidance on what not to do for organizations offering such services to users. Proactive auditing is key to staying ahead of compliance demands.
What Our Solution Delivers
The Synack Red Team (SRT), our community of elite and highly vetted security researchers, has performed millions of hours of cybersecurity testing for our clients. When a test is initiated, they probe the target to see if the AI/LLM exhibits bias or gives concerning responses. Results are then available in the Synack Platform in real-time.
Bias Findings
Our platform identifies biases in chatbot outputs by running tests across diverse inputs and scenarios. The assessment helps surface patterns where responses may:
- Show gender, racial or cultural biases
- Favor specific perspectives unfairly
- Fall prey to prompt manipulation
Content Auditing for Accuracy and Quality
You can create automated tests to evaluate chatbot outputs for key content criteria:
- Correctness: Are answers factually accurate?
- Tone: Does the response align with your brand voice?
- Appropriateness: Is the content free of harmful or offensive material?
- Relevance: Does the response meet the user’s intent and context?
Who Benefits from Bias and Content Auditing
AI Product Teams: Ship chatbots that are fair, reliable and free of harmful content.
Compliance and Ethics Leaders: Demonstrate proactive auditing to meet ethical AI principles and compliance standards.
Customer Experience Teams: Improve chatbot performance to provide users with accurate and trustworthy interactions.
Why Choose Our Solution?
- A History of Security Expertise: Synack has excelled as a trusted pentesting vendor for over a decade, and our security researchers come with AI/LLM testing expertise that can’t be found in traditional or automated testing solutions.
- Scalable Audits: Run large-scale bias and content audits on-demand and seamlessly.
- Actionable Insights: Understand where your chatbot succeeds and where it falls short.
- Built for Iteration: Quickly spin up more tests in our SaaS platform, faster than traditional vendors.
Build Fairer, Higher-Quality Chatbots Today
The Synack Platform empowers you to uncover hidden biases, audit responses for content quality and continuously refine your chatbot’s performance. Build AI systems that your users trust. If you’re interested in learning more about our testing services, request a demo today.
