Callers to Washington state hotline press 2 for Spanish and get accented AI English instead

SEATTLE (AP) — Press “two” for Spanish ... accent?

For months, callers to the Washington state Department of Licensing who have requested automated service in Spanish have instead heard an AI voice speaking English in a strong Spanish accent. The agency has since apologized and says it's trying to fix the problem.

Washington resident Maya Edwards learned of the AI-accented voice last summer after her Mexican husband tried using the Spanish-language option while seeking information about his driver’s license. He is bilingual but saw that the wait time for speaking to a customer service representative in English was long, so he hit “two” for Spanish.

For Edwards, it was a like a scene out of “ Parks and Recreation,” a mocumentary-style comedy show that satires local government.

“It was hilarious to us in the moment because it was so absurd,” she said Thursday. “But at the same time, it has real accessibility issues for people who call in every day and need to speak in a different language other than English.”

Earlier this month, Edwards called the number again and found the error persisted. She posted a video of the call to TikTok, racking up around 2 million views.

The Washington Department of Licensing said in a statement that it was trying to fix the Spanish option and figure out how it happened in the first place. It noted that the self-service option includes 10 languages and runs on a newer, AI-driven technology. It was not immediately clear if the issue had affected other languages; efforts by The Associated Press to use the phone service in some of the other languages Thursday did not prompt additional accented voices.

“DOL apologizes for the error and to its customers for any inconvenience,” the statement said. “An unfortunate byproduct of expanding services is that DOL found problems with the self-service option.”

The agency declined to share the name of the AI vendor providing the translation service, referring the question to WaTech, the state's interagency IT service. A spokesperson for the agency did not immediately provide the name of the vendor following AP voice and email messages requesting it.

Thursday morning, the call line still put on the voice after a message, in English, acknowledging that the some translation services are no functioning properly.

When an AP reporter followed prompts for Spanish-language options, he was met with an accented English voice accent that would only say numbers in Spanish.

“Your estimated wait time is less than ‘tres’ minutes,” the voice said.

Washington resident Maya Edwards is interviewed via Zoom on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. (AP Photo)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Hailed as the MLS' teen soccer sensation, 16-year-old Cavan Sullivan delivered an American scoring record with his first professional goals for the Philadelphia Union.

Sullivan broke through with the game of his young — very, very young — career when he scored twice and had two assists to lead the Union to a 7-0 win over Defence Force FC on Thursday night in the CONCACAF Champions Cup — the North American equivalent of the Champions League.

“It's another moment in the right direction,” Union coach Bradley Carnell said.

Sullivan became the youngest American goalscorer in a CONCACAF Champions Cup game at 16 years, 4 months, 29 days.

“It means a lot,” Sullivan said. “It took a long time in my eyes. I wish I had it sooner. This is a special moment.”

At 14 years, 293 days, Sullivan is believed to have been the youngest player to appear in a game for any major North American professional sports league when he made his July 2024 debut for the Union.

The hype surrounding Sullivan has mushroomed by the day in MLS and could go global by the time he is expected to transfer to Premier League powerhouse Manchester City at the end of 2027 when he is 18.

Sullivan's first goal on Thursday was a left-footed blast into the net that made him the third youngest goalscorer in CONCACAF Champions Cup history. He added an 88th-minute tap-in after starting the attack.

“Happy to score my first goal,” Sullivan said. “Two of them, actually. It was pretty special. More important is the clean sheet in the win and we advance.”

The Union advanced 12-0 on aggregate — Philadelphia won 5-0 on Feb. 18 in Trinidad and Tobago — over the two legs and will next play Mexican team Club America.

The 5-foot-7, 150-pound Sullivan led the United States to victory in the 2023 CONCACAF Under-15 Championship, which marked the first time the U.S. ever won the tournament. The youngest player on the team, Sullivan’s four goals scored earned him the Golden Ball as the best player in the tournament.

Sullivan and the Union play their MLS home opener Sunday against New York City FC.

“I think I've sort of made some good impact when I came in,” Sullivan said. “At this level, things get faster, things get harder.”

AP MLS: https://apnews.com/hub/major-league-soccer

FILE - Philadelphia Union's Cavan Sullivan warms up before an MLS soccer match against CF Montréal, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in Chester, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)