If there’s prior work already using the technology, the patent would be invalidated. Parents are supposed to be used for innovations. Companies often patent things they shouldn’t, but if it gets challenged in court, it usually shakes out (although not always, especially since it can be expensive to challenge it).
It’d be a lot easier to not make a bot at all if that was the case. They aren’t intentionally not trying to help, they’re intentionally spending as few resources as possible on helping while still doing enough to satisfy most customers. It’s shitty but it’s not malicious like you guys are implying.