A new California law that took effect in January 2026 now requires food delivery platforms such as Uber Eats, DoorDash, Grubhub and Postmates to provide customers with access to a live human customer service representative when automated systems can’t resolve an issue. The legislation is part of a broader consumer-protection effort to ensure fairness, transparency and accountability in the rapidly growing on-demand delivery sector.
On October 2025, Assembly Bill 578 has been signed into Sign into Law by Governor Gavin Newsom as a result of Assembly Member Rebecca Bauer-Kahan’s request, that all Delivery Service Providers (“DSP”) provide customers who have received inaccurate or undelivered orders the ability to obtain a REFUND TO the payment method that was used when the item was purchased and NOT solely via in-app credit.
“When orders go wrong, customers deserve transparency and real support: not hidden fees or automated runarounds,” Bauer-Kahan said in an Instagram post earlier this month, underscoring the law’s focus on customer rights.
The law does not ban the use of automated chatbots or AI-based support tools, which delivery platforms have long relied on to handle a high volume of service requests, but it mandates a clear escalation path to a human representative when automation can’t deliver an effective solution.
In addition to the human-assistance requirement, AB 578 broadly strengthens consumer protections by:
- Requiring full refunds for wrong, incomplete or undelivered orders directly to the customer’s original payment method, including taxes, fees and gratuities.
- Promoting pricing transparency, including clear itemized breakdowns of fees for customers and delivery workers.
- Preventing food delivery apps from using customer tips to subsidize base pay for drivers.
According to industry analysts, the newly enacted legislation may transform how platforms manage the dual goals of efficiently automating tasks while providing excellent customer service. It has been brought to the attention of analysts that many of the businesses that utilise the gig economy largely depend on automated systems as an efficient method to deal with basic inquiries from customers, however, as a result of not being able to see or speak to an actual person when dealing with complicated issues, like returning products or invoices, the customer experiences unnecessary frustration. The new requirement means apps must ensure a human “in the loop” for escalations, a move that could raise service expectations nationwide.
California’s new delivery-customer rights law reflects a wider trend in regulatory efforts aimed at rebalancing tech-driven service models with consumer fairness and transparency. The Human Services Provision of the legislation to address pain points related to food delivery (e.g., unknown customer support locations or systems) and limited options for refunding customers will be a template for various state and international regulatory bodies as they determine how best to regulate gig-platform services.
