--- title: "OpenAI Tried to Hire Influencers to Spread Love for Its Products, But It Backfired Horrendously" description: "Influencers who flew out to an OpenAI brand trip ended up being heat shields against the overwhelming hatred for the company." date: "2026-08-06" modified: "2026-08-06" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/openai-influencer-campaign-backfired" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "OpenAI" --- # OpenAI Tried to Hire Influencers to Spread Love for Its Products, But It Backfired Horrendously ![A photo of a model wearing a hat with the OpenAI logo on it.]() *OpenAI / Futurism* OpenAI's attempt to boost its image by hiring influencers collided against a harsh reality: that it's already become a fundamentally uncool company. *The Verge* [details]() how influencers recruited by the ChatGPT maker were flown out to its "first ever brand trip" at a nature retreat outside New York City. But rather than creating buzz for OpenAI, gaining widespread attention, or at least showcasing its products, the content that came out of its "Summer Club" campaign sparked fierce backlash against the influencers, who were branded "sellouts." "People will literally sell their soul and their planet down the river for a nice free hotel room," one TikTok commenter quoted by the reporting seethed. "Wow! Beautiful greenery! They should put a data center there!" another jeered. It's not uncommon for companies to rely on engagement bait — and even rage bait — to gain attention. But this didn't appear to be an intentional maneuver on OpenAI's part. Most of these posts and videos barely get any attention, racking up only, at best, a few hundred likes and a few thousand views. But videos criticizing the OpenAI influencers — or "creators," as the company prefers to refer to them — have racked up hundreds of thousands of views, including from other influencers who didn't take the AI bag. "They're all a bunch of f\*cking phony sellouts," Meredith Lynch, a comedian known for her TikTok content, said in [one viral call-out video](). As the influencers, most of them women, toted around branded merch and reveled in their bucolic surroundings, many couldn't help but point out the hypocrisy of laundering the image of an industry whose data centers have perilous effects on the environment. The choice to select mostly women feels noteworthy, given that, as the *Verge*'s reporting observes, [women tend to view AI more negatively than men do](). What's particularly baffling was how relatively little content came out of the trip, according to *The Verge*, with almost none of it actually about OpenAI's chief product, ChatGPT. Instead it was "largely aspirational lifestyle content focused on the free swag and pretty setting" — with no clear idea on how it's supposed to reflect on the company, other than the fact it's willing to comp expensive trips for a small group of extremely vain people. The company has made a big push recently to gain some cultural cachet. A few weeks ago, it [launched a new line of clothing]() in a minimalist, trendy style — or at least trendy for five years ago, as if its fashion department had a knowledge cutoff date like its AI models. That, just like its influencer brand trip, was also met with mockery. In a statement to *The Verge*, OpenAI defended its influencer marketing scheme and said the event was meant to be educational. "Creators are an important part of our community and how people get information and learn about our products today," a spokesperson told the outlet. "We welcome healthy debate as AI becomes more prevalent, and we value creators who choose to engage with us, attend our events, ask tough questions, and learn alongside everyone else. We'll continue to value them, just as we do traditional media and other marketing partners." **More on OpenAI:** [*Sam Altman's Parenting Strategy Sounds Low Key Horrifying*]() ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()