SEARS Exposed AI Chatbot Phone Calls and Text Chats to Anyone on the Web, published by DataBreaches[.]Net on 17 March 2026, reports that Lily Hay Newman and Matt Burgess describe how Sears’ AI chatbot and phone assistant, Samantha, exposed conversations publicly. Security researcher Jeremiah Fowler is noted as the person who found three publicly exposed databases containing chat logs, audio files and text transcriptions that included personal details about Sears Home Services customers.
The piece states that the exposure occurred despite Sears remaining a trusted name in the US, with the retailer’s brand still in operation mainly through its appliance repair service. According to Wired, the investigation highlights the scale of the data trove and the potential privacy implications of accessible records. The article emphasises that the exposed data consisted of customer interactions with the chatbot and related audio, underscoring the risks of inadequate data protection in consumer-facing AI tools.