The Match Bot checks claims on your found items for you. It compares the claimant's answers with the item's secret characteristics, such as the lock screen of a phone or the name on a bank card. Then it matches the claim, asks for more details, or leaves the decision to your team.
Its messages appear in the claim conversation as Match Bot.
When it checks a claim
The Match Bot is switched on in your location settings.
The item has secret characteristics filled in. Without them, the claim is left to your team.
The claimant has confirmed their email address.
How it scores
For each secret characteristic, the Match Bot looks at the claimant's answer, their description and their name, and keeps the best result. Together this gives a score from 0% to 100%, which you see on the claim.
Score | What happens |
100% | Every characteristic matches exactly. The Match Bot matches the claim. |
51% to 99% | Your team decides. |
50% or lower | If the claimant skipped secret questions, the Match Bot asks follow-up questions. Otherwise your team decides. |
Some characteristics are decisive: a close enough answer to one of them matches the claim straight away. An item with only one secret characteristic is never matched automatically, unless that characteristic is decisive.
When it matches a claim
The Match Bot posts a match message, sets the claim to Match and moves the item to the return step. The claimant gets an email with the next steps, and the finder is told if they left an email address.
Good to know: Other open claims on the item stay open after an automatic match. Set them to No match yourself. When your team matches a claim, the Match Bot closes the other claims for you and tells those claimants.
Follow-up questions
The Match Bot asks one question for each missing or weak answer, written by AI in the claimant's language. The AI never sees the details you registered, so it can't give the answer away. The claimant's reply arrives in the conversation for your team to review. Follow-up questions aren't available at every location yet.
What it never does
The Match Bot never rejects a claim, never shows secret characteristics to anyone, and never matches an item that already has a match.