Special Terms of Use for testing of the AI chatbot DB Kiana on the website www.bahn.de (hereinafter referred to as "chatbot")

1.1 DB Fernverkehr AG, DB Tower, Europa-Allee 78–84, 60486 Frankfurt, will make a chatbot available to test participants on subpages of the website www.bahn.de during a testing phase for questions and answers relating to real-time information, travel information and service enquiries.

1.2 These Terms of Use govern the use of the Chatbot by test participants during the testing phase. The purpose of this testing phase is to evaluate the technical feasibility and customer acceptance of the Chatbot, to gain a better understanding of customers' needs and usage behaviour, and to identify potential product errors in order to improve the functionality of the Chatbot on that basis.

1.3 Subject to availability, test participants will be granted access to the Chatbot in order to test its functionality and provide feedback for its improvement. Participation in the testing phase is free of charge, voluntary and does not give rise to any entitlement to remuneration. The Chatbot automatically responds to written and spoken inputs from test participants by providing answers and information (hereinafter referred to as "Output"). It provides travel information, informs users about connections and answers questions relating to service enquiries. DB Fernverkehr AG may discontinue the Chatbot service and terminate the testing phase at any time. The availability of the Chatbot may also be affected by interruptions or outages, for example due to maintenance work or technical faults.

1.4 The Chatbot is software based on generative AI (artificial intelligence). It draws on knowledge databases containing publicly available information. The system uses a probability-based approach to generate responses. This means that the system generates results based on what is most likely to be correct. Due to this probability-based approach, errors cannot be ruled out. Therefore, the Output generated by the Chatbot serves solely as a guide. The Output does not replace advice provided by travel advisers, nor does it replace the information presented on the website www.bahn.de (or in official documents and notices). Test participants remain solely responsible for any decisions of any kind that they make on the basis of the Output generated by the Chatbot, as well as for verifying the content against legally valid documents.

2.1 The chatbot may only be used for the following purposes during testing:

1. Enquiries about travel connections
2. Enquiries about FAQs
3. Enquiries about tariff information and conditions of carriage
4. Questions regarding customer service
5. Use of additional functions that are made available within the chatbot

The purchase of tickets, as well as the conclusion, amendment or termination of subscriptions or other contracts directly via or through the Chatbot, is not possible. It is also not possible to assert passenger rights or any other rights of any kind against or through the Chatbot.

2.2 Any other use that is not connected with the above-mentioned testing purposes and the services offered by DB Fernverkehr AG or DB Vertrieb GmbH is prohibited. Use of the Chatbot in an unlawful manner is also prohibited. In particular, no content may be entered or otherwise made accessible that is immoral or infringes copyright or other rights of third parties (in particular intellectual property rights).

2.3 Furthermore, all measures that are capable of or intended to manipulate the Chatbot, influence its operation, alter, reconstruct or impair it (e.g. prompt injection attacks, DoS attacks, hacking attacks, reverse engineering, viruses, etc.) are prohibited. The use of automated systems or automated software to extract content from the Chatbot is likewise prohibited.

3.1 All copyrights, database rights, trademarks, design rights and other intellectual property rights are owned by DB Fernverkehr AG or its licensors. Without the prior written consent of DB Fernverkehr AG, the test participant may not reproduce, modify, distribute, publicly communicate or otherwise use the Chatbot or the underlying software code, either in whole or in part, beyond the types of use and purposes permitted under these Terms of Use.

3.2 The test participant may use the Output solely for the purposes specified in Section 2 of these Terms of Use and in connection with the services offered by DB Fernverkehr AG. Any use of the Output beyond this, particularly for commercial purposes, is not permitted.

The Chatbot may contain links to third-party websites/services. DB Fernverkehr AG assumes no responsibility for the content of such third-party websites/services/apps, nor does it adopt such websites/services/apps or their content as its own. If DB Fernverkehr AG becomes aware, or is informed by others, that specific content linked to by it gives rise to civil or criminal liability, it will remove the relevant link.

5.1 Any liability of DB Fernverkehr AG, irrespective of the legal basis, arising out of or in connection with the testing of the Chatbot by the test participant shall be excluded except in the cases specified in Section 5.2.

5.2 The exclusion of liability set out in Section 5.1 of these Terms of Use shall not apply in the following cases:

• Damage resulting from intentional misconduct or gross negligence on the part of DB Fernverkehr AG or one of its legal representatives or vicarious agents.
• Damage resulting from injury to life, body or health.
• Damage resulting from non-compliance with a guarantee or warranted characteristic given by DB Fernverkehr AG, or from defects fraudulently concealed.
• Damage resulting from the breach of essential contractual obligations, meaning obligations whose fulfilment is fundamental to the proper performance of the contract and on whose observance the customer may regularly rely (so-called cardinal obligations). In the event of a merely negligent breach of a cardinal obligation by DB Fernverkehr AG or one of its legal representatives or vicarious agents, the liability of DB Fernverkehr AG and its vicarious agents shall, however, be limited to the foreseeable damage typical of the contract.
• Liability that is mandatory under applicable law (for example under the German Product Liability Act (Produkthaftungsgesetz)).

Please also note our privacy statements.

These Terms of Use shall be governed exclusively by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany. If test participants are consumers residing outside the Federal Republic of Germany, the laws of the country in which the test participant resides may also apply, where such laws contain mandatory statutory provisions.

The exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising out of or in connection with this agreement shall be Frankfurt am Main, provided that the contracting parties are merchants, the customer has no general place of jurisdiction in Germany or in another EU Member State, the customer's permanent residence has been relocated abroad after these Terms of Use entered into force, or the customer's residence or habitual place of abode is unknown at the time proceedings are commenced.

September 2026